


ACT 2: Hopeful DETERMINATION

by rcReader



Series: AngelTale – The Story of Angel Dreemurr [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Future Earth, Angst, Asriel Dreemurr Lives, Asriel Has Issues Too, Asriel is Still a Cinnamon Roll, Bad Humor, Bad Puns, Badass Protagonist (Undertale), Bullying, Child Death, Codependency, Conspiracy, Covering My Bases in Regards to Language, Derogatory Language, Determination (Undertale), Dissociation, Dogs, Education, Explicit Language, Families of Choice, Fantasy Racism, Fighting Contest, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gender-Neutral Protagonist (Undertale), Government Conspiracy, Hate Crimes, Hate Speech, Humans are mean, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Innocent Asgore, Level of Violence (Undertale), Magic, Magic-User Protagonist (Undertale), Middle School, Mild Language, Misgendering, Monster Magic (Undertale), Monsters Have Too Much Freaking Gold, Monsters are Weird, Mystery, Nightmares, Not All Humans, Politics, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route – “I want to stay with you.”, Protagonist Still Has Issues, Racism, SOUL Mechanics (Undertale), Tags Are Hard, Terrorism, W. D. Gaster Still Exists, Who Is Angel Dreemurr?, dark themes, deadnaming, human magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:15:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 63,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27074083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rcReader/pseuds/rcReader
Summary: After 3,000 years of imprisonment, Monsters are finally free. But ‘Free’ and ‘Safe’ are two very different things.While Humans learn to coexist with their new neighbors, something slithers in the dark, looking to bring it all crashing down.Angel and their adoptive brother, Asriel, will do everything in their power to protect this world’s future, no matter the cost…
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Protagonist/Asriel Dreemurr (Platonic), Protagonist/Monsters (Platonic), Sans/Toriel (Platonic)
Series: AngelTale – The Story of Angel Dreemurr [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889557
Comments: 33
Kudos: 16





	1. The Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does the Overworld look like, I wonder?

( _The following is an excerpt from the journal of Angel Dreemurr._ )

Long ago, two races ruled over earth: Humans and Monsters.

Sometime around the year, 1000 BCE (Before Common Era) a war broke out between Humans and Monsters.

After a terrible struggle, Monsters were defeated and banished to the Netherworld. The Seven Sorcerers then erected the mighty Grand Barrier, preventing any Monster from leaving the Netherworld.

As time passed, Humanity slowly forgot about both Monsters and Magic. Soon, these things became nothing more than the stuff of myth and legend.

However, Monsterkind never forgot their imprisonment, and sought a way to destroy the Grand Barrier. Eventually, it was discovered that only the combined power of seven human SOULs could destroy the barrier.

Monsters began to lose hope, since there were no humans in the Netherworld.

Until one day… A Human child fell into the Netherworld…

They did not survive their fall…

The Human’s body and SOUL were brought before the Monster’s King and Queen. They decided to bury the Human according to what little they knew of Human burial rites.

Since Monsters did not know what Humans did with the deceased SOULs of their own… The King had a special container constructed, to house the SOUL until a solution was found.

Despite it all, the Kingdom of Monsters grieved for the child, a shrine was built in the royal garden, so that the fallen Human would never be forgotten.

The Queen prayed that no more children would fall into the Netherworld.

Her prayers went unanswered…

Again and again, Human children fell into the Netherworld. Again and again, they did not survive.

Until at last, the SOULs and bodies numbered six…

The Queen was beside herself…

On September 16th, 2058 CE (Common Era)… another Human child fell into the Netherworld…

This fallen Human was too Determined to die.

With the aid of Prince Asriel, the fallen Human reached the Monster capital…

And with the SOULs of the seven fallen children…

The barrier was destroyed…

After 3,000 years of imprisonment… Monsters were finally free.

However, this is merely history for the perspective of Monsters… What had happened to the Humans during those 3,000 years?

I am afraid that this story is even more tragic…

As I said before, Humans had forgotten about both Monsters and Magic. No one is quite sure how or why, but it is of little consequence now.

Human History is covered well enough by other people, as the Monster’s Ambassador, I am far more interested in recent events.

Recent events, such as the ‘Time of Troubles.’

In the year, 2030 CE the Overworld was ravaged by natural disasters.

It started off small, a simple hurricane hitting the American southeast. It was a large hurricane, but by no means the largest seen in recent years. Sadly, it was just a prelude to what was to come. The following week, an earthquake hit Japan. The week after, a freak tsunami hit the United Kingdom. The next week saw a large volcanic eruption, the week after saw a family of super-tornados. Every week, seemingly like clockwork, the world suffered another disaster, some of them natural, some of them man-made.

This trend lasted for eight long years.

During this time, Humanity was pushed back, each disaster was more crippling than the last. Soon, nations were left with too few resources to survive on their own. Many smaller countries attempted to take what few resource their neighbors had left, this was folly. These countries quickly descended into anarchy and barbarism.

Larger nations too, considered war… But the people of these nations were too busy putting out fires at home, to be bothered with the thought of setting fire to someone else’s.

Instead, these nations struck a deal with one another, the surplus from one nation could be traded for the surplus of another nation. This program was later dubbed the ‘Last Hope’ Initiative. A fitting name, to be sure.

In the year, 2038 CE, the member nations of the Last Hope Initiative declared that the Time of Troubles was over. By standing together, Humanity was able to weather this storm. But, those that survived were forever changed.

Gone was the negligence that pushed Humanity to the brink. Gone was the complacency that allowed the corrupt to oppress the weak. Humanity had undergone a cultural and political renaissance, a renaissance that affected the entire world!

The surviving nations began working to repair this damaged world. The following year, enough progress was made that the reformed United Nations declared the Time of Troubles officially over, worldwide.

Nearly two decades have passed since then.

On 16th of September in the year 2058 CE, the Grand Barrier was broken. All of Humanity saw the sky flash. All Monsters saw the barrier break. A new age was about to dawn yet again.

In late November of that same year, Monsters made their debut in the modern world.

Since then, Humans and Monsters have started learning to overcome and accept their differences.

It is now the year 2059 CE, I continue to serve as the Monster Ambassador, working to build a lasting peace between these two once-estranged races.

I will do everything in my power to safeguard this world’s future… No matter what it costs me.

I will not fail this time. I refuse.

_Editor’s note: It is unclear what Angel meant by ‘this time.’ Many different theories have emerged surrounding the enigmatic Ambassador. However, one thing is irrefutable; Angel Dreemurr’s contributions to peace will never be forgotten._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: New Lives
> 
> It begins, with MORE world-building! Yay…!


	2. New Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two-hundred monsters have moved to the new monster settlement on the surface, Ebott City. Meanwhile, Angel meets with human leaders to ensure there are no misunderstandings. Sans, Papyrus and Undyne hang out with Toriel.

Angel sighed and closed their journal. They dismiss their enchanted pen and lean back in their chair.

They WILL succeed this time; they will let nothing stop them.

They stand up from their writing desk and stretch. They turn to see Asriel lying on his bed, reading a comic book. The comic book Angel bought for him a few days ago.

It was still hard to believe that just a few months ago; Angel was a suicidal misanthrope who had forced themself to forget how to love.

To Angel, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Now they were living on the surface with their new family. Their new home was a simple-looking, two-story house with all the modern comforts. A fully stocked kitchen, a dining room, a library/study and a living room, complete with a large flat-screen TV and even a game console. On the 2nd floor, they had four bedrooms, one for Toriel, one for Asgore, and one that Angel and Asriel shared. The last bedroom was the guest room. (Asgore was not living with them at the moment, he was still needed in the Netherworld.)

The house also had two full bathrooms, one in the first floor hallway, and the other connected to Angel and Asriel’s room upstairs.

Angel still found it weird that monsters didn’t need to dispose of… waste, unless they ate human food, of course. Still, every living creature needed to be clean in order to stay healthy; but the Dreemurrs felt that Angel may want some additional privacy, hence the second bathroom. They couldn’t complain about the benefits, but it did sometimes make them feel like some kind of special-needs kid.

Sadly, now was not the time to reminisce, Angel had work to do. They walked over to Asriel and gently poked the top of his head. “Come on, Azzy. We can’t afford to be late.”

Asriel closed his comic book and climbed out of bed. “Can’t we just take the day off?”

Angel shook their head, “Nope! Besides, I thought you liked watching me work? Of course, if you would rather stay here and read, that’s fine too.”

Asriel smiled and shook his head, “If you’re going, I’m going! You aren’t getting rid of me that easy!”

The two children giggled at some unspoken joke. Angel walked to the door of their bedroom. “Let’s grab some lunch first, can’t save the world on an empty stomach!”

Asriel put on face of mock-surprise, “But Angel, I thought you could do ANYTHING? Have you been lying to me all this time?”

Angel responded by sticking their tongue out at him and running downstairs. Asriel quickly followed.

Toriel was not surprised by her children’s rambunctious behavior, regardless she still chastised them when they ran into the dining room, “Please, my children, do not run down stairs! You could trip and hurt yourselves quite badly.”

“Sorry, mom.” Asriel replied.

Angel didn’t reply, they were too busy claiming their lunch, a home-made monster sandwich. Angel disliked eating human food; it sat heavier in their stomach.

“Angel…” Toriel said, in her authoritative ‘mom voice.’

Angel swallowed what was in their mouth and mimicked their brother, “Sorry, Toriel.”

Toriel sighed, she knew Angel was a very polite child, but they tended to be a bit reckless when it came to their own safety. She hated seeing them, almost purposefully, put themself in danger.

Angel and Asriel quickly devoured their lunch. Angel then teleported both empty plates onto the kitchen countertop, before teleporting themself to the fridge and grabbing their ‘Victory Chocolate.’

Asriel grinned, “Don’tcha think it’s a bit early to say that you’ve ‘won?’ I mean, we haven’t even left yet!”

Angel returned Asriel’s grin with an even smugger grin, “Don’t worry, brother. I’m just going to take it with me, so that when I do INEVITABLY win, I can celebrate right away!”

Toriel sighed again, it looks like Angel was having fun, but still, “You do know that politics is not a game to be won, do you not?”

Angel nodded once, “Of course, Toriel. I take my job as Ambassador VERY seriously. However, politics IS a game. The stakes are simply the lives and livelihoods of the people you care about, and I refuse to let anyone hurt my friends and family.”

Asriel could feel another philosophical debate brewing, so he decided to interject, “Anyways! Don’t worry about us, mom! Sans will be taking us there and picking us up when we’re done! If Angel’s mood is anything to go by, this should be over quickly.”

A familiar voice came from the other room, “wow, you guys are really working me, down to the _bone_. heh, i should charge extra.”

Angel spoke up, “Looks like our rides’ here! Farewell, Toriel! We shall return triumphant!”

Angel and Asriel walked into the living room, Toriel couldn’t help but titter slightly and her children’s antics.

The children find Sans lying face-down on the couch. Angel couldn’t help but crack wise, “Go drunk, Sans. You’re home.”

Sans laughed, he wasn’t drunk, but he still knew what they meant. “heh, careful there, kiddo. some people might question how a kid learns a joke like that. anyway, you two tykes ready? you’re heading to, what, washington dc?”

Angel nods once.

“ya both going or what?”

Asriel nods once.

Sans chuckles, “welp, let’s go then. i know a shortcut.”

  


* * *

  


“…And that concludes everything we have uncovered thus far, which is to say, not much.”

The speaker was a human man, dressed in a jet-black suit and tie; he stood a full head-and-a-half taller than most people, and his brown hair, brown eyes and light skin made him look almost painfully ordinary. This man was none other than Richard Colson, the Vice President of the United States, and a close personal-friend of President Henry Ericson.

President Ericson simply continued to stare at his desk, lost in thought.

Henry Ericson was the current President of the United States and took his job very seriously. He wore a deep-blue suit, he didn’t look good in black, and stood at about 6ft with brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin. The paleness of his skin had nothing to do with his genetics; he had simply not left the White House in nearly five months. It was a good thing he wasn’t the type of person to go stir-crazy.

Colson cleared his throat, “Sir? Did you hear me?”

President Ericson looked up from his desk, “I want you to hire that private investigator, and please… don’t argue the point with me.”

Colson opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. The look on Ericson’s face told him all he needed to know; this was a direct order, not a suggestion. Colson nodded to his aid, who immediately began making the arrangements with her phone.

President Ericson returned his gaze to his desk, “Angel… The more we try to learn about you…”

Colson spoke up, “Speaking of the Ambassador, your meeting with them is due to start in five minutes. As usual I ask that…” Colson stopped speaking and brought he hand to his ear. “…Understood. Speak of the devil, the Monster Ambassador has just arrived, and they brought the Prince along as well. Is that acceptable, sir?”

“Yes. I presume you will be present for this meeting? I doubt it will take long.”

“I will, if you would allow me, sir.”

The two men and a handful of secret service agents left for the designated meeting room. When they arrived, they found Angel and Asriel waiting patiently in their seats at the far end of the table.

Angel spoke first, “Greetings, Mr. President. Shall we skip the formalities and get to the point?”

Ericson nodded, “Yes, but allow us to sit down first…”

“Of course.”

Once everyone was seated, Angel began to speak, only to be interrupted by a late-arrival.

The late-arrival was a congressman whose name had escaped Angel, but they knew he had no business being there. It wasn’t too uncommon for congressional representatives to sit in on these meetings, most of the time they would try to shift the conversation toward or away from certain topics. Sometimes they were even subtle about it.

Once the unnamed congressman was seated, Angel began again, “As you know, two-hundred monsters have already been successfully relocated to Ebott City, founded at the foot of Mt. Ebott. Construction work has been progressing swiftly, even faster than our initial estimates. Therefore, we would like to accelerate the proposed timetable and allow another two-hundred monsters to move to the Overworld within the next two weeks. Are there any objections to this?”

“I object whole-heartedly!” Both Angel and the President sighed, the congressman didn’t seem to notice, and continued, “You cannot expect us to believe that your, monsters,” he practically spat the word, “could build an entire city in just two months! It simply isn’t possible! There is no way that these creatures could work faster and harder than a good, old-fashioned, American construction crew!”

And there it was, this guy must have a stake in city planning and/or city construction.

Angel did not let their annoyance show, “I assure you, that everything is up to code, both your codes as well as our own, as per our agreement with your country. You are more than welcome to verify this yourself; however, I would like to point out that the school HAS hit a small delay in construction. Regardless, I see no reason to delay the next batch of monsters for that reason alone.”

Ericson continued to stare at the middle of the meeting room table, even as he spoke, “You objection is noted congressman, however, I must concur with Ambassador Angel: It makes little sense to delay things due to a school, provided, of course, that monsters are okay with this development?”

Angel smiled, “They are. Especially the students.”

Ericson chuckled weakly, but said nothing.

The congressman, however, was not amused. “No! I will not let you threaten our people with these dangerous creatures! Mr. President, I STRONGLY advise you reconsider!”

Angel tried to deescalate the situation, “Please, sir. You must consider—”

“NO! I will NOT be told what to do by a child! If your King and Queen weren’t so cowardly as to send a CHILD in their place, perhaps they would understand how GENEROUS we have been thus far, and would not attempt to overstep their boundaries!”

Angel and the congressman engaged in a fierce staring contest. Asriel wasn’t surprised, this sort of thing happened a lot. Most people who had not met Angel before would often underestimate them, and either tried to use direct intimidation (shouting, swearing, and aggressive staring) or tried to placate them with flattery or even gifts.

Neither of these strategies ever worked. There was good news however; no one was dumb enough to make this mistake twice… except for one specific middle-aged woman of course. Thankfully, SHE wasn’t here today.

Angel stood up from their seat, and Asriel had to do his best to remain calm. On the outside, Asriel’s expression could be best described as ‘regally bored,’ but on the inside, Asriel was grinning ear-to-ear. He knew what was about to happen.

This idiot was about to get dunked on.

Angel’s voice was dangerously calm, “So congressman…” Angel opened their blood-red eyes, and stared straight into the congressman’s very SOUL. They flashed their ‘creepy smile.’ “Let’s talk about your abandonment issues…”

  


* * *

  


It was a beautiful day outside.

Birds were singing.

Flowers were blooming.

On days like this, monsters like Sans…

Were napping on the Queen’s couch.

Or, at least pretending to. The truth was, Sans did NOT want to be dragged into the cooking-based disaster going on in the other room.

After everyone had their big apology-party several months ago, Toriel learned that Undyne had burned her house down while trying to give Angel and Asriel a cooking lesson. Once the Queen heard that, it was all over. Toriel ordered Undyne to receive proper cooking lessons, lessons that she herself would be teaching. Heh, it was so obvious that Toriel wanted to be a teacher.

Toriel quickly learned that Undyne had been teaching Papyrus as well, so naturally she had to teach Papyrus how to cook too. Otherwise, they would both lose their jobs for ‘reckless endangerment,’ as the Queen put it. No one argued with the Queen, mostly because everyone knew she was the real brains behind the throne.

To be fair, Papyrus never set anything on fire, but that was the only advantage he had over Undyne in the cooking department. Even so, Papyrus was over the moon to receive lessons from a member of the royal family. Undyne was a bit reluctant, but her job as captain of the royal guard was on the line, so it’s not like she had a choice. Besides, Sans knew she felt awful for nearly traumatizing the kids.

Yeah, things were looking good. Grillby had opened his new place on the surface, Papyrus was the monster kingdom’s new ‘mascot,’ Sans and Papyrus had a nice two-story house. Yeah, they were living the life.

Course, they weren’t the only ones; Undyne and Alphys decided to move in together once they were approved to be a part of the ‘first batch’ of monsters, as Angel put it. Mettaton, Muffet, several of the dogs, not to mention most of the Dreemurr royal family moved to the surface as well. Two-hundred monsters may not seem like a lot, but it was more than Sans thought they could get, plus more were going to get approved, in the ‘second batch.’ Sans wondered if the young Ambassador was really hungry for Toriel’s cookies when they came up with these names.

Speaking of which…

Sans couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. At first, he thought he just missed Gaster, who had chosen to stay behind and help King Asgore in the Netherworld.

But that wasn’t it. No, it was never that simple.

Sans idly stroked his chin as he thought about it. Yeah, there was something about THEM.

Ambassador Angel, the hero of monsters, the angel of freedom. Something about them just didn’t add up. Sans felt something was off when he first saw them, strolling out of the ruins, hand-in-hand with the prince. A human with 20 LOVE was terrifying no matter how you chose to look at it.

But what REALLY worried Sans was how close the two of them were. He kept an eyesocket on them throughout their little journey. They were as close as Sans and Papyrus were, siblings through-and-through.

…Maybe Sans was just overthinking things. It’s not like he was ever given a REASON to doubt the kid, LOVE not withstanding of course. They were clever, polite, quick with a bad pun, and were NOT someone Sans wanted to piss-off. Not only were they basically a Prinx, they were also the most Determined human Sans had ever met.

A red-SOUL human Sorcerer with 20 LOVE, a weapon straight out of legend, and a world-class ‘I will kill you’ stare…

Nope. There was nothing to be worried about AT ALL.

Sans mentally kicked himself, he couldn’t doubt the kid. They gave him everything he wanted, Papyrus and everyone else was happy, he and Paps got to see the stars together. Life was great.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that he would start to believe it.

  


* * *

  


“…And that is why you will never be anything more than a pathetic excuse of a man. Do not make the mistake of crossing me again, mongrel.”

Angel stood over the quivering wreck of a man, who was doing his best to make himself as small as possible, vainly hoping he would become too small to hold the red-eyed child’s attention.

Angel returned to their seat, the congressman continued to weep quietly on the floor. Once seated, Angel spoke, “I am sorry you had to see that. Was he a friend of yours?”

President Ericson couldn’t help but notice that Angel referred to the congressman as if he had been killed, but considering the state he was in, the distinction may not have been relevant. “No. In all honesty, that guy was a bit of an ass…”

Angel and Ericson shared a look.

The truth was, Angel loved this guy! Platonically, of course. Ericson was not your average ‘old-world’ leader; he genuinely cared for his people, almost to the point of obsession. Almost. Angel could relate; they cared about monsters as much as Ericson cared about the American people. He was like a kindred spirit, his number-two on the other hand…

To say Angel didn’t like him was a gross understatement.

Colson was an egomaniacal piece of human excrement. He didn’t _hate_ monsters, but he would always oppose ANY form of human-monster interaction. Whether from fear or general-mistrust, it didn’t matter. Colson would only ever back down it Ericson openly told him to.

They did work well together, but that was the ONLY nice thing Angel could say about Colson.

Colson cleared his throat, it was his way of signaling that things should be wrapped up. “If that is all, we shall approve your request. As for the trade agreement…”

Angel nodded, “King Asgore is reading it as we speak. Assuming there are no last-minute issues, the agreement will be signed and finalized by this week’s end.”

Ericson stood up, and bowed slightly to the children as he spoke, “Good, good. Thank you Ambassador. Thank you, Your Highness. Give the King and Queen our regards. Oh, and please…” he turned to the congressman, still sobbing on the floor, “Be gentler with my, associates. You are starting to earn a somewhat, regrettable, reputation…”

Angel smiled cruelly, “That depends on them, I’m afraid…” Angel’s smile became genuine, “Farewell, Mr. President.”

By the time they had said goodbye, Asriel had already texted Sans. They found him outside, at the designated ‘teleport zone.’ The secret service was not too keen on letting Angel and their friends just teleport in wherever they wished, so they were only allowed teleport in or out from a specific place in front of the White House. It WAS a secure government building, after all.

One shortcut later, and they were home. All total, that only took them about 20 minutes. Long-range teleportation was the best thing ever.

Undyne could be clearly heard throughout the house, “I’m telling you, smashing the vegetables will make ‘em taste better!”

“WHILE THAT MAY BE THE CASE… THIS NEW METHOD OF SAUCE-MAKING DOES RESULT IN A SMALLER MESS…” Leave it to Papyrus to state the obvious with a straight face.

Thankfully, it seemed as though they missed the cooking lesson. The spaghetti looked edible this time, a substantial improvement!

Toriel was not so impressed, but she kept that to herself.

After saying hello to everyone, Angel and Asriel went to their room. They had a no intention of sticking around and getting asked to taste-test…

Today was a productive day!

  


* * *

  


That night…

When Angel first moved in, both Angel and Asriel insisted that they share a bedroom. Neither Toriel nor Asgore could argue with them, they were both too happy to see Asriel make a friend. Despite his kind nature, Asriel had trouble making friends. Being the only heir to the throne had its downsides…

Anyone could tell that Angel and Asriel were very close, but no one knew just how much they depended on each other. How much they needed to know that the other was nearby, that they were safe.

Tonight was one such night.

Asriel awoke from a terrible nightmare. He dreamt of his family, turning to dust in his arms. He dreamt of Angel, releasing an inhuman scream that made their attackers’ eyes and ears bleed.

He dreamt of the end of his entire world.

He carefully climbed out of his bed and walked over to Angel’s bed. He checked to see if they were sleeping, they were. The two of them had an agreement; if one of them suffered a nightmare, they could sleep in the same bed as the other, no need to ask.

It helped make the nightmares seem less real.

Asriel climbed into Angel’s bed, careful not to wake them. He would keep them safe, he didn’t want his nightmares to become a reality. He would help them, and together, they would SAVE everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Endless Questions
> 
> WE. ARE. BACK! WHOO!  
> Ahem… If you haven’t read my previous work in the ‘AngelTale’ Series, “ACT 1: Grim DETERMINATION” you are probably VERY lost, and should read that first.  
> Also, I made a side-Series called "AngelTale Extras." You can find it here:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974007


	3. Endless Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel attends a press conference; it turns into a Q&A segment. Toriel announces her plans for a new school for both humans and monsters. Undyne and Alphys discuss their future together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text in _italics_ signifies a flashback. This trend will continue for the rest of ACT 2.

Angel hated having to attend press conferences. It wasn’t so much dealing with the press that they hated; it was the fact that they always had to answer the same stars-damned questions at least seven different ways.

All though, it was better that the human press asked questions rather than simply making-up weird assumptions. That did little to soothe Angel’s annoyance however.

The press conference was scheduled to start in about five minutes. However, these things never started on time so it would be at least ten before Angel would be needed on-stage.

They pulled out their encoded black book.

Before Angel fell into the Netherworld, they would record sensitive data using Wing Dings. The reason behind this was because NO ONE knew how to read them. It wasn’t easy learning to read and write using this font, but they were very determined.

They were more than a little upset to learn that quite of few of their friends could read Wing Dings: Gaster, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, and the ENTIRE Dreemurr family. Suddenly, their encoded notes were not so safe. Although, it wasn’t as if they left these things just lying around. In fact, Asriel was the only one who even knew these notebooks existed.

Still, they spent all that time learning this font, they didn’t feel like learning another one. So they kept using the font.

Angel’s ‘black books’ were a collection of notes they had taken regarding many subjects, from magic to ancient history to the location of ancient reliquaries.

As well as information that could very well end life as they knew it. Obviously, Angel didn’t let ANYONE read those.

This particular black book contained no dangerous knowledge, it was simply an outline and projected timetable for certain events, such as when another group of monsters could be moved to Ebott City, or when it was likely for certain scandals to make headlines. The book also contained quite a few predictions and suggestions, should things go wrong.

Monsters were freed on September 16th. Following this, Angel took steps to ensure that the monster’s economy would be compatible with the human economy; this took nearly a full month. Once this was done, monsters disclosed themselves. Humans were more curious than frightened. Angel played on that curiosity to minimize the anti-monster rhetoric. They had endured five months of meetings, press conferences and more.

It was currently mid-April, and after checking the timetable, Angel confirmed that things were going according to plan.

That was always a bad sign.

Asriel gestured to his watch, looks like it was time to start. Angel sighed, put away the book and donned their poker face.

They stepped on stage, accompanied by Toriel, Asriel and Undyne. Gaster was supposed to show up too, but an incident at the humans’ Netherworld Research Center forced him to miss the event. Lucky bastard…

While only Angel and Toriel planned to answer questions, Asriel was there to offer moral support and Undyne was there as security. Three members of the royal family were present, after all.

Toriel addressed the crowd and apologized for Dr. Gaster’s absence. She thanked everyone for their patience, and then, after everyone was seated, the questions began…

This press conference was supposed to be about magic and its applications, but most humans were far more interested in the idea of learning magic. To no one’s great surprise, the very first question was going to be…

“Can humans use magic?” Asked the first reporter.

“Indeed, humans are capable of using magic.” Toriel’s response was crisp and clear, sadly the response from the crowd of reporters and pundits was not.

Angel practically had to shout to be heard over the din of voices, “SILENCE! If you do not adhere to the rules… We WILL end this conference early!” That shut them up.

Angel knew that these things could quickly get out of control, so they implemented a ticket system. Everyone who wanted to ask a question had a ticket. The person with ticket #1 would get to ask their question first, followed by the person with ticket #2, and so on. If people started asking questions out-of-turn, Angel would threaten to end the conference early.

The first time they made this threat, no one believed them. That conference lasted two minutes. And thus, everyone knew: Ambassador Angel did not make idle threats. Everyone would ask their questions in turn, or no one would ask them at all.

Angel enjoyed the silence for a few moments before speaking, “Next question.”

Another reported stoop up, briefly showed their ticket, and spoke, “In a previous conference, you stated that humans once possessed magic. If that is the case, how did humanity lose this power? How come there are no historical records of magic and monsters?”

“That’s actually two questions…” Angel commented, “But I shall answer them both. Firstly, humanity didn’t ‘lose’ magic in so much as they ‘forgot’ magic. Secondly, humans still have historical records of monsters and magic, the problem is that most humans believed that these were mere fairy tales. One such example would be Merlin. Merlin was a real-life human mage of incredible power and ability; however, most people dismissed Merlin as an historical figure, due to simple fact that humanity thought all ‘magic’ was fraudulent. The same could be said for monsters as well. Next question.”

The next reporter stood up, “Many people still do not believe magic is real. Some believe that this claim is due to the ‘supernatural’ element to magic. Can you explain magic in more scientific terms?”

Toriel was about to speak, but then she remembered Angel’s plan. She kept quiet as Angel answered this question as well.

“Simply put, magic is VERY difficult to explain in scientific terms, at least scientific terms that humans are familiar with. That being said, magic CAN be categorized based on color and application. Next question.”

“What do you mean by ‘color?’”

Angel took a deep breath before launching into an explanation.

“Magic is divided into three major categorizes: Simple, Complex, and Greater. These categorizes can be further broken down into sub-categorizes: seven for simple and complex, two for greater.”

“Let us start with Simple first. Simple magic is divided into seven sub-categorizes, each one corresponds with a color. As such, these sub-categorizes are referred to as ‘colors’ of magic. Each color also corresponds with a human SOUL type. The colors, and their corresponding SOUL traits, are as follows: Red is Determination, Cyan is Patience, Orange is Courage (sometimes called Bravery), Blue is Integrity, Purple is Perseverance, Green is Kindness, and Yellow is Justice.”

“Each color of magic has a different general application. Blue magic governs force and kinetic energy. Things like telekinesis and gravity control are blue magic. Cyan magic governs subtle, constant magical effects on physical objects. Cyan magic is primarily used for enchanting inorganic material for long durations, sometimes even indefinitely. Orange magic is the same, but in reverse; i.e., drastic, short-term effects. Orange magic is used to enhance organic materials for a short amount of time.”

“Purple magic is commonly referred to as ‘space magic’ due to its dependency on physical or positional relationships. Simple purple magic is mostly used for analysis of physical objects. Green magic is used for healing and protection. Such as healing physical damage, curing simple diseases and conjuring protective barriers. Yellow magic governs non-physical energy, that is to say, any form of energy that is NOT kinetic or potential energy. Controlling electricity and heat are two examples of yellow magic.”

“Finally, there is red magic. Red magic is often called ‘Communication Magic’ due to the fact that it exhibits little power on its own, and is mostly used to supplement other forms of magic, or is used as a key component in long-ranged communication spells. Examples of such would be Farsight, Farspeak, and most forms of telepathy.”

“Complex magic uses the same color system, it merely combines multiple colors together to create more complex and varied effects. Combining blue and purple can be useful for teleportation, whereas combining yellow and cyan can result in stronger energy-based enchantments, etc.”

“Greater magic uses a different color system. This system is much simpler, as it only has two colors: White and Black. White magic can ONLY be used by monsters, and can accomplish just about anything within reason. Black magic can ONLY be used by humans and has the same capabilities as white magic. The only real difference between these two colors is methodology. Thus, some mages have once argued that these two colors are actually one-and-the-same.”

“Regardless, it must be noted that while ANY monster may wield white magic. Only human Sorcerers may wield black magic safely, any non-sorcerers would only succeed in injuring themselves.”

Angel took a drink of water, then another. “I am sorry that took so long to answer. Next question, please.”

Another human stood up, "What is a Sorcerer, exactly?"

"In order to avoid confusion, I will need to explain the different classifications of Mages. There are three classes of Mages, in order of increasing power, they are: Grey Mages, Wizards, and Sorcerers. The difference between Grey Mages and Wizards is skill and experience. However, Sorcerers are another matter entirely. In order to achieve the lofty status of Sorcerer, one must perform an incredibly-dangerous magical ritual. This particular ritual is sometimes called the 'Secret to Sorcery.' That is all I will say on the subject... For now, at least. Next question, please."

The next person to stand was a man wearing a clerical suit. Judging from the style, this man must be catholic priest. “You mentioned souls and ‘soul traits’ earlier, are you implying that monsters intend to spread their own spiritual beliefs into the human society?”

Angel shook their head, “No. SOULs and SOUL traits have no real spiritual meaning, furthermore, the closest thing monsters have to a religion could be summed up on a single piece of standard A4 paper.”

“While we are on the subject, I would like to point out the difference between souls as a concept and SOULs as metaphysical objects. SOUL is an acronym, it stands for ‘Single Observable Unit of Life.’ Souls as a spiritual belief cannot be measured in any meaningful way, unless you intend to say one person is objectively better than another person for some arbitrary reason. SOULs, as in, Single Observable Units of Life, CAN be measured like any other observable entity. Since SOULs are metaphysical in nature, they cannot be measured as physical objects, but with the right equipment you can determine a few things about the SOUL. Next question.”

“What can you find out about a person through SOULs? Could this be a possible issue with personal privacy?”

“Thankfully, no. The most intrusive information you could get would be a person’s name. If you are concerned someone could steal your social security number by looking at you SOUL, don’t be. Only information that you, yourself, use to self-identify could be gleamed from your SOUL. Some simple statistics could be uncovered as well, but these statistics are mostly combat-orientated… one’s ability to inflict or resist harm, is one such example. Next.”

“Is there anything else that SOULs can tell us about a person? You mentioned ‘SOUL traits’ before, but you didn’t elaborate on them.”

Angel smiled slightly, “That is an excellent question. The only statistics that I think of are MDR, EXP and LV, or LOVE. These are somewhat dark subjects however, and I am not sure you wish to hear them explained further… As for SOUL traits, these are simply basic qualities about a person’s character. They do NOT define people in totality! A green-SOUL human, i.e. a human with a ‘Kindness’ SOUL may still commit murder, a blue-SOUL, i.e. an ‘Integrity’ SOUL may still lie. SOUL traits simply provide a basic overview of how a person is LIKELY to act, or more precisely, it could be used to help determine someone’s ‘default’ manner of thinking.”

“And before anyone asks, I will inform you that EVERYONE has at least a small amount of all seven SOUL traits within them. Only one may be the dominant trait, but the others still exist, even if they are not readily visible. Next question.”

“Do monsters have SOULs as well?”

What a rude question, but judging from this human’s expression, they meant no harm by it. Angel cleared their throat, “Yes, however it should be noted that monster SOULs and human SOULs are very different. Monster SOULs contain all seven SOUL traits, but no one trait is considered ‘dominant.’ As such, all monster SOULs appear white in color, unlike human SOULs that will always appear to be one of the seven colors, according to the dominant trait. Next.”

“You say this like SOULs are visible somehow. What EXACLTY do you mean by this? And if SOULs can be ‘seen’ may you please show us?”

Toriel was about to speak up again, and chide the human for asking something so improper. But, Asriel placed his hand on top of hers’ to remind her of the plan.

Angel made a show of sighing, before answering the question, “SOULs are visible under the right conditions. Dr. W. D. Gaster was going to release a paper on the matter later today, but that may be delayed somewhat… That being said, asking to see a monster’s SOUL is considered to be very rude and improper. Culturally speaking, it is the monster equivalent of asking a human to strip-naked.”

A series of uncomfortable murmurs began emanating from the crowd.

“HOWEVER!” The crowd became quiet once more. “This is mostly a matter of cultural norms, as such, it only applies to monster culture. This means that it is not considered taboo for a human to display their SOUL, as human’s do not have this cultural stigma. For that reason, I am willing to show you my SOUL, if you wish.”

Several people began nodding their heads and murmuring approval, as the cameras began to flash more rapidly.

“…Very well. This, is what a human SOUL looks like…”

Angel stood, pulled their hands to their chest, and drew forth their SOUL. It appeared as a red heart, floating gently an inch or two from their cupped hands.

“As you can see, drawing forth my SOUL has no negative impact on my person. So long as the SOUL does not remain in this ‘projected’ state for too long, I will be perfectly fine, as would any human. It is worth noting that this IS taking some degree of effort to maintain. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that maintaining a projected SOUL for too long would cause adverse effects. These effects are fairly similar to overextending a muscle. The average human would only start to feel adverse effects after about… 20 minutes or so.”

Angel returned their SOUL to their chest. “Next question.”

…

Angel spoke again, “Next question, please.”

Eventually, the next person stood up and asked their question, “How did you DO that!?”

Angel smiled, with no small amount of smugness, “To be honest, that was a fairly simple task. If you are asking if I can teach you, the answer is no. I do not have the credentials, nor the inclination, to formally teach magic or magic-related topics… However…”

Angel nodded to Toriel, looks like it’s time.

Toriel stood up and spoke to the crowd, “I would like to inform you all, that I plan to open a school in Ebott City. This school shall offer magic courses to both monsters, and humans alike.”

The crowd practically exploded into a sea of voices and questions. Angel did nothing to quell them; in fact, they made a show of sitting back in their chair and pretending to take a nap.

Everything went according to plan.

  


* * *

  


_Toriel nodded her head, “…So, you wish for me to save the announcement until later, do you not? Why would you make such a request?”_

_Angel handed her a sheet of paper with several questions written on it. “These are the questions we will likely hear at the Q &A, I mean, press conference. I will answer most of these questions, especially all the trick questions or loaded questions they may throw at us. Once I have set the stage, you make your big announcement about the school. After that, we will have COMPLETE control of the conference; all you have to do is lead them around by the nose.”_

_Toriel frowned, “I do not wish be belittle your plan, my child. But… This seems a little, underhanded, does it not?”_

_Angel shrugged, “If it will make you feel better, chances are good that someone will ask, or rather, subtly demand, to see your, or Asriel’s SOUL. They will likely not know, or simply not care, about the cultural taboo surrounding that. Furthermore, I distinctly recall you using a similar tactic on me and Asriel, to get us to stop prank-calling Papyrus…”_

_Toriel sighed. It was obvious that Angel was deliberately missing her point, but she could not argue with Angel’s intentions. She was concerned that humans would attempt to twist the truth of her school into something reprehensible. She was afraid they would try to label it as a church or a cult, and not see it as a place of learning._

_Toriel wasn’t sure why, but she felt as if that was a very distinct possibility…_

_“Very well, my child. I will await your signal to announce the new school.”_

_Angel smiled, “Thank you, Toriel. I promise that I won’t let you down.”_

  


* * *

  


_Later that evening, after the conference. At Alphys and Undyne’s house…_

Undyne practically body-slammed the couch, “Uhg! That conference was so BORING! No wonder you didn’t want to go, Alphys!”

Alphys shook her head, “I d-didn’t want to go because I would have been a t-total, nervous wreck!”

Undyne sat up and sighed, “Yeah, I hear ya. Some of those humans were pretty intense… It was like they were just LOOKING for a reason to hate us! NGAH! I just wanted to suplex them into next week!”

Alphys laughed weakly, “I’m just glad nothing h-happened out there… I, I don’t know what I’d do if… If I lost you…”

Undyne pulled Alphys close. The close proximity caused Alphys to blush bright-red. Undyne couldn’t help but smirk at how adorable her girlfriend was when she blushed.

“Listen, babe…” Undyne began, “When everything is settled, we need to talk, about us.”

Alphys was suddenly very nervous, “D-do you… not like me any—”

“Of course I still love you Alphys! That’s not what I meant. What I meant was… once things are nice and quiet… WE’LL NEED TO PLAN THE WEDDING! FUHUHU!”

Alphys.exe has stopped responding. Please reboot your dinosaur.

“…Uh, Alphys? You okay, babe?”

Alphys snapped out of her daze, “YES! I DO! …I mean, I w-want to, um… be there, for you… always.”

Undyne couldn’t help but laugh, “YES! Okay, as soon as everything is sorted with the humans, and you and I can take some time-off… Let’s get hitched!”

Alphys was every bit as excited as Undyne “Y-yeah! I, I can’t wait!”

“GREAT!” Undyne swept Alphys off her feet, literally. “Now… Let me show you just how much I love you…”

Alphys’ blush returned in force as Undyne carried her down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Fluffy Science
> 
> If you were silently wishing that I didn’t change paragraphs so much, be careful what you wish for! Fear me, and my wall of text! *maniacal laughter*  
> Also… THERE ARE NO BRAKES ON THIS SHIP!


	4. Fluffy Science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel helps Gaster think with portals. Papyrus demonstrates his 'mascot' prowess. Asgore vetos Mettaton's new game show.

_Dr. Gaster practically slammed the front of his skull into his desk,_

_“What am I missing!?”_

_(What am I missing!?)_

_Angel sat on the edge of one of the workstations, eating a bag of chisps. After finishing off the bag, they spoke, “What exactly seems to be the problem, g?”_

_Gaster lifted his skull off the desk, “I am trying to solve this equation. It is the last piece of the puzzle, once we solve this, we can finally reach the Overworld. In case you were unaware, even with the barrier destroyed, thank you for that by the way, we still need to find a way to cross Dimensional Divide between the… dimensions…”_

_Angel nodded, “I see, so you need help thinking with portals?”_

_Gaster sighed, “I cannot help but feel as if you are quoting something to poke fun at me. Either way, you are being far more helpful than a certain lazybones. Right, Sans?”_

_Sans didn’t respond, he was too busy pretending to nap at his desk._

_Gaster sighed again, and pulled up a holographic display of the Dimensional Divide, or rather, the mathematical representation of the Divide._

_Angel studied the hologram for a few moments before speaking, “Well, there’s your problem! You are thinking in terms of spatial relativity, you should try examining it as a trans-planiar relation instead.”_

_Sans and Gaster turned to look at the small human, a stupid expression plainly visible on both of their faces._

_Angel didn’t seem to notice, “Indeed, the problem with treating this like a dimensional bridge problem, i.e. standard teleportation, is that you cannot present the ‘cross-dimensional’ coordinate in a clean fashion, this leads to far too much work and a substantial increase in power requirements, not to mention the loss in accuracy. So if you think of it as a 4th dimensional bridge, then…”_

_Gaster suddenly claps his hands together, “…It would fail because there is already an area that is out of dimensional bounds! Of course, because the Netherworld is finite! This means, we simply need to determine how the ‘edge’ of the Netherworld relates to the Dimensional Divide and solve for that using the two-dimensional bridge theorem!”_

_Sans continued to stare blankly at the other two, “’kay i understand what you mean, but… uh, how did you figure that out so quickly, kiddo?”_

_Angel shrugged, “Sorcerer, remember? Magic is kinda my thing…”_

_Gaster was absolutely ecstatic, “It shames me to admit it, but you have solved in a few minutes, what I had failed to solve in three weeks! I only wish that you had stopped by sooner! Nevertheless, Sans, we must re-configure the sensors and begin scanning the Dimensional Divide at once!”_

_Sans hopped out of his chair, “you got it, doc. i’ll get it done right away. don’t worry, i know a shortcut, heh.” Sans snapped his fingers and disappeared in a blue flash._

_Gaster turned back towards Angel, “Thank you once again, my friend! Once this is complete, do you wish to name the formula? If was your idea, after all.”_

_Angel tilted their head to the side, as if in thought, “Let’s call it, the ‘Type-AG Rift.’ Does that work for you?”_

_“Type-AG Rift?” Gaster parroted, “What does that mean, exactly?”_

_Angel shrugged, “Obviously we can’t call it a portal, since portals only bridge two points in a three-dimensional space; hence calling it a ‘rift’ instead. Also, I doubt that this is the ONLY way to create a rift, it may be only one of many ‘types’ that are used in future. Finally, ‘AG’ stands for ‘Angel and Gaster.’ Therefore, it shall be known as the Type-AG Rift.”_

_Gaster nodded along with Angel’s explanation, “I am honored that you would share credit with me, but I did not come up with the solution…”_

_Angel winked at the royal scientist, “Maybe, but I’m not the one who will spend the next week or so running test after test to prove the hypothesis.”_

_Gaster chuckled lightly, “It would seem Sans was a bad influence after all. Very well, I accept. In the meantime, when was the last time you have slept? Do not take this the wrong way, but you look awful.”_

_Angel waved their hand dismissively, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead, g.”_

  


* * *

  


Two humans, one male, one female, were sitting center-stage. After the applause died down, the man spoke, “Welcome back! We will now interview tonight’s guest, the Great Papyrus!”

After hearing his name, Papyrus proudly strolled out onto the stage. The crowd went wild with cheers and applause. “THANK YOU, KIND HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, APPRECIATE YOUR APPRECIATION! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus took his seat.

The female host spoke, “Thank you, Papyrus. We are glad to finally have you on the show, although we were hoping your brother would be joining us as well, but we heard he was held up at work…”

“YES, BUT NEVER FEAR, HUMANS! MY BROTHER MAY BE A LAZYBONES, BUT HE NEVER SLACKS-OFF WHILE WORKING AT THE CORE!”

The male host spoke, a grim smile on his face, “That’s good to hear. However, we have heard about something which may force us to end this interview early… Is it true that you had, at one point, tried to enter a romantic relationship with a minor?”

The female host quietly hissed under her breath, “You said you weren’t going to bring that up!”

Papyrus’s ever-present grin never faltered, “NOT EXACTLY. I ONLY AGREED TO GO ON A DATE WITH AMBASSADOR ANGEL, BECAUSE THEY FLIRTED WITH ME. HOWEVER! I HAD NO ROMANTIC INTEREST IN THEM, SO I HAD TO LET THEM DOWN EASY! I BELIEVE THE TERM IS ‘FRIEND-ZONED?’ EITHER WAY, I RESPECTED THEIR FEELINGS TOO MUCH TO SIMPLY REFUSE THEM WITHOUT EXPLANATION! I AM, AFTER ALL, THE GREAT, AND CONSIDERATE, PAPYRUS!”

The male host scoffed, “You expect us to believe… that a CHILD flirted with you?”

“INDEED, IT WAS MOST PECULIAR! I DID WONDER, AT FIRST, IF HUMANS SIMPLY STARTED DATING THAT YOUNG. EITHER WAY, AMBASSADOR ANGEL IS QUITE FLIRTATIOUS. THEY HAVE FLIRTED, AT LEAST ONCE, WITH MOST MONSTERS THEY HAVE MET! FROM TSUNDEREPLANES TO MOLDSMALLS, I CAN’T THINK OF A SINGLE MONSTER I KNOW, WHOM HAS NOT BEEN FLIRTED WITH! OR, IN THE CASE OF DOG MONSTERS, PET INTO SUBMISSION! POOR LESSER DOG…”

The male host scoffed again and looked straight at the camera, “So what you’re telling us… is that monsters enjoy flirting with children? Well, that’s all I needed to hear from—”

The female host interrupted him, “That’s not what he said and you know it! Papyrus, what do you really think about Ambassador Angel’s behavior? Be honest.”

Papyrus brought one gloved hand to his chin, as if thinking. “HMM… WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT THE YOUNG AMBASSADOR’S BEHAVIOR IS… SOMEWHAT PROBLEMATIC. WHILE THEIR ADVANCES ARE CLEARLY MEANT TO BE HUMOROUS, AND NOT AT ALL SERIOUS, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE TAKES THINGS TOO FAR, AND GETS EMOTIONALLY HURT!”

The female host looked confused, “What do you mean? Are they flirting as a joke, or…?”

“PRECISELY! IT SEEMS MOST MONSTERS FIND THE SMALL HUMAN QUITE ENDEARING, SO THEY LAUGH ALONG WITH THE AMBASSADOR’S ANTICS! I, OF COURSE, MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHY AMBASSADOR ANGEL DOES THIS!”

The female host nodded, “I see. I’m glad we got that straightened out.” She casts a dirty look at her co-host, “…So, I have to ask. You are the monster kingdom’s ‘mascot,’ correct? How much does that pay?”

“I HAVE NO IDEA! I DON’T BELIEVE I AM BEING PAID TO DO THIS?”

The female host smiles, “I guess that means…”

“OH, NO!”

“That you’re working…”

“PLEASE! HAVE MERCY, HUMAN!”

“…Pro- _bone_ -oh?”

“NYEEEEEH! WHY? HOW? HOW HAS SANS MANAGED TO INFLICT HIS SENSE OF HUMOR UPON ALL THE NICE HUMANS!?”

Papyrus' display of mock-hurt caused the audience to start laughing, the female host starts laughing too.

The male host simply glares menacingly at Papyrus.

No one notices. No one cares. 

  


* * *

  


Asgore set the papers down on his desk, and pinched the bridge of his snout, “Mettaton… I am afraid we simply cannot approve of this. It would be a public relations nightmare.”

Mettaton, who was in his improved EX form, struck an overly-dramatic pose of surprise. “AND WHY IS THAT, YOUR MAJESTY? I THOUGHT INVOLVING HUMANS IN MY NEW GAME SHOW WOULD WORK WONDERS FOR HUMAN-MONSTER RELATIONS?”

Asgore sighed, “Normally, yes… However, your idea is a bit… much… even by your standards…”

Mettaton returned to a more normal pose, or at least, normal for Mettaton. “AND WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS THE MATTER HERE?”

Asgore shook his head and stood up from his desk, “I do not think humans would EVER be willing to participate in… what was it…? ‘Competitive Chainsaw Juggling?’ I am afraid that I cannot allow this, sorry.”

Mettaton gasped, “OH! WELL THEN… WE COULD ALWAYS REPLACE THAT EVENT WITH SOMETHING ELSE! HOW ABOUT A ‘DEADLY DISCO DEATHMATCH’ INSTEAD?”

“Good-bye, Mettaton,” Asgore said as he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Humans and Monsters
> 
> A shorter chapter this time. No plot, but we needed a bit of fluff before we got serious.


	5. Humans and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting with the UN is postponed, so Asriel insists that he and Angel attend a nearby pro-monster rally instead.

Angel awoke to the sound of their alarm-clock blaring.

They reached out with blue magic and pressed the snooze button. They pressed it so hard, the entire clock was smashed. Oops.

Asriel opened one eye to confirm, yup, totally smashed. “That makes four points.”

Angel grumbled tiredly, “Don’t get your hopes up, bro. I’m not telling you my secret recipes.”

Angel and Asriel had little game between them: every time Angel broke something they would get a ‘point.’ If they got five points in a single month, Angel would have to give Asriel a reward. If Angel had no points or had negative points at the end of the month, Asriel would have to give Angel a reward instead. Of course, the only way Angel could lose points was if Asriel broke something instead, which would cause Angel to lose one point. The rewards were decided at the start of the month, and the points were reset as well.

This month, the stakes were very high.

Late last month, Angel forgot to lock up their mini-alchemy-lab, and Asriel drank one of Angel’s Energy Elixirs. Apparently Asriel really liked it, so he wanted to know the recipe, Angel refused. So the reward for this month was the recipe for the elixir, and since the rewards had to be ‘even,’ Angel tried to intimidate Asriel. They said they wanted to dress Asriel up as a girl, if only for one day.

Angel planned for Asriel to get embarrassed and back down, but having won the last three months in a row, Asriel was confident he could win again.

In all honesty, they didn’t want to accidently give their brother a reputation as a cross-dresser. They didn’t have a problem with cross-dressers, they just didn’t like embarrassing Asriel, on accident anyways. However, they would rather that, than tell Asriel what was in that bottle.

Asriel climbed out of his bed and stretched, “Just one more and all your secrets will be mine.”

Angel hopped out of their bed as well, “Just remember… Stubbing your toe and swearing during the summit will cost you a point!”

“That only happened one time!”

They both laughed. Today was going to be a good day.

  


* * *

  


_Angel’s jaw hit the floor. They couldn’t even process what they were seeing._

_They were in a large room, about the size of a football stadium, and it was filled to the brim with gold! Gold ingots, as far as the eye could see! Pallets and pallets of gold, there was more gold in this one room, than there was in every human countries’ treasuries, combined!_

_This would be a problem. Not because humans liked gold a little too much, it was because of the Gold Standard._

_After the Time of Troubles, sometimes abbreviated ToT, major countries needed to re-establish their economies, and fast. So they decided to re-instate the Gold Standard at an international level. This allowed the then-current infrastructure to transition over to something that approached the Pre-ToT economy._

_The return to the Gold Standard meant that gold was a major factor in determining the value of legal tenure in relation to other forms of legal tenure. Because of this, if there was a sudden abundance of gold flooding the market… well, sufficed to say that would be a HUGE upset to the entire world’s economic balance._

_Monsters needed to demonstrate a certain degree of economic power; they did NOT need to demolish the current international socio-economic environment. That would cause them to make a lot of very powerful, and very wealthy, enemies._

_And the last thing monsters needed was more enemies._

_“So, what do you think, Ambassador?” Asgore seemed pleased with himself for some reason. “Will this be enough?”_

_Angel closed their mouth and shook their head, “Enough? This is too bloody much! How and why do you have this much gold!?”_

_Asgore gave a somewhat guilty smile. “When monsters were first sealed within the Netherworld, we had nothing. No money, no tools, no materials of any sort, really. We had only our magic, and what little food we could carry.”_

_Asgore suddenly looked much older than he did several seconds ago, as if the memory itself had aged him. “We needed materials, badly… So, with what little we could cobble together, we went mining. We were searching for metals, mostly iron and copper, what we found was mostly gold and silver… We later learned that iron, and copper, were extraordinarily rare here in the Netherworld. Whereas so-called ‘precious metals’ were abundant.”_

_Asgore started to seethe slightly, but only for a moment. “It became clear to me that the Seven Sorcerers, whom created this place, did not wish for us to create weapons or armor of any sort. I never had any intention of resuming that terrible war. Enough lives had been lost already, but it seems the Seven did not trust us. Despite our intentions…”_

_Asgore gestured to the immense piles of gold, “We processed everything we could, but eventually I had to issue a ban on mining gold, and later, on silver as well. We had so much of it, but so little iron… you cannot build houses with gold alone, and believe me, we tried. You saw our Judgment Hall, didn’t you? We built it mostly out of gold, and it barely made a dent in our reserves.”_

_Angel nodded along, “So let me guess, you tried to use gold for everything you could think of? Is that why monster currency consists entirely of enchanted gold coins?” Asgore nodded, this earned a sigh from Angel. “Okay, give me a second; I need to think about this…”_

_Angel began pacing back and forth across the room, Asgore watched them, hoping they would find a solution to the problem that they failed to share with him._

_After a few minutes, when Asgore was about to suggest a tea break, Angel stopped suddenly and exclaimed; “I got it! We make it all disappear!”_

_Asgore was completely lost now. “Excuse me, what do you mean ‘make it disappear?’ Do you mean to make the gold invisible?”_

_Angel snapped their fingers and pointed at Asgore, “Yes! Just not literally! The problem is, if we show up with ALL THIS GOLD! We will crash the gold market and irreparably hurt the Overworld’s economy. The solution, therefore, is to NOT have ALL the gold, and instead settle for a LOT of gold!”_

_Asgore started to nod, before shaking his head instead, “I, still don’t follow…”_

_“It’s simple, recall ALL the… What is monster currency called?”_

_“Gold.”_

_Angel shook their head, “I know what it’s MADE of, I need to know what it’s CALLED.”_

_“Monster currency is simply called, ‘Gold.’”_

_Angel was silent for several moments, “…You named it, didn’t you?”_

_Asgore nodded._

_“…As Ambassador, I am taking away your naming privileges, forever! Regardless, we recall the golden money, and issue paper currency instead. Once we have all the gold back, we will hide most of it. Is there a place we could hide about… 90% of what’s here, right now?”_

_Asgore stroked his beard for a few moments before answering, “Well, there IS a basement floor to the metal repository, which is this building we are in now. I had it built before I declared gold mining off-limits, to store the excess gold, mostly. We could easily fit ALL the gold on this floor down there…”_

_Angel clapped their hands in excitement, “Perfect! I want you to ask Toriel to work with the royal Treasurer and have all the gold coins recalled and replaced with paper currency. In the meantime, I will need YOU to carry about 90% of what’s here into the basement. While you’re doing that, I will seal up all but one access point, and use powerful magic to conceal that last entrance from prying eyes. So even if humans investigate, they will only find the gold up here, and not find the gold that we have hidden down below!”_

_Asgore seemed concerned, “Um… I do not mean to be rude, but…” Asgore looked between Angel and the immense piles of gold. “I would need about, 200 monsters to move all of this… You cannot expect me to carry it all myself, can you?”_

_Angel shook their head, “Sadly, the last entrance will need to be kept secret, not even the Royal Treasurer can know what we have done with the gold. If humans found out we have THIS much… It could start a war, all on its own… Only you, me, and the rest of the royal family can know about this. Your Majesty, we NEED your strength to achieve peace between humans and monsters. Please, do not let us down! Stay determined!”_

_Asgore took a deep breath, “Very well. If this will help bring peace and freedom to my people… Then I simply cannot refuse! I will move this gold, but it will take time…”_

_“How long?”_

_Asgore eyed to gold, “About a month, give or take. It should also take about a month to recall the gold coins, and replace them with, what did you call it, paper money? I shall call Toriel and inform her of your plan.”_

__

_Angel nodded once, “Good, now let’s get started.”_

  


* * *

  


Damn these humans and their love of gold!

Angel had been called upon to appear before the United Nations due to rumors of monsters ‘immorally hiding immense wealth and resources.’

Angel wasn’t sure if the UN knew what they were getting into, or if they were looking for an excuse to ‘investigate’ monsters. Either way, they were starting to piss Angel off! If they had simply scheduled a meeting, Angel would not mind, but they simply HAD to issue a formal summons.

And then, they cancelled, literally ten minutes before everything was supposed to start!

Angel was PISSED!

Even though Angel was smiling, anyone who knew them well enough could tell the difference between their happy face and their ‘creepy face.’ And right now, the limousine window was reflecting their creepy face, with startling clarity.

Asriel decided to lighten the mood, before Angel did something regrettable to the next human who bothered them. If only he could think of something!

Asriel was desperately trying to find something that would calm Angel down, something positive, something that they could convince the limo driver to… There!

Asriel tapped one of the search results on his phone: ‘Pro-Monster Rally in New York City!’ That was perfect! Since the UN insisted that the Ambassador arrive via limo. They couldn’t just teleport, not without getting the limo driver in trouble at least. So the fact that there was something fun-sounding going on, meant that he could help Angel relax, and no one would get fired.

Asriel gave the limo driver directions, and turned to Angel. “Look! Doesn’t this sound like fun?”

Angel glanced at Asriel’s phone, “…I guess. As long as it isn’t CANCELLED…”

Yikes, they must be really upset…

After several minutes of driving, they arrived at the rally.

…

It was a little… odd, to say the least.

Aside from Asriel, there were no monsters here. This was not surprising in the least, as Angel took great pains to inform monsters that their rights did not exist inside human territory. Human law did not protect monsters, so it was dangerous for monsters to wander. Only diplomatic representatives were protected. Everyone else, not so much.

This wasn’t what put the two children off. What made them feel uneasy, was all the cosplayers. There were so many humans who dressed up like monsters. The weirdest part was that most of them looked like Sans or Papyrus!

Angel knew Papyrus was popular with humans; his intimidating height and skeletal appearance, when juxtaposed by his rambunctious and friendly demeanor, made him incredibly popular. Sans was a weird one though. Granted, he was very funny, in that cheesy sort of way, and people love memes and low-effort jokes, but Angel couldn’t help the feeling that they were missing something…

Of course, Asriel was far more concerned with the people cosplaying as his mother. Some looked like they put decent time and effort into their costumes, they couldn’t compare with the real thing of course, but some of them… Some of them wore outfits that had more exposed ‘skin’ than fabric!

Angel couldn’t help but reminisce. Truth be told, they had a crush in Toriel when they first met her. She was so soft and warm, she gave the best hugs, and she never expected anything from them. Angel lost count of the number of times they fell asleep while she held them and read to them. Even if it was mostly about boring snail facts…

Angel was glad they outgrew that phase… Otherwise, this would be VERY uncomfortable for them. Instead, only Asriel was made uncomfortable by the sight of the scantily-clad goat-moms.

Angel could tell how Asriel was feeling, so they nudged him with their elbow. “Do you want to leave?”

Asriel tried to swallow the lump in his throat, “N-no, we should at least, look around.”

The two children wandered the rally, it was more of a fair really. They visited some food stands, which, despite their claims, they were NOT selling monster food! They watched a dramatic stage-play of an old legend about a human and monster who fell in love. They took WAY too many liberties for Angel’s liking.

Despite this, and the cosplayers, and that one guy who foolishly pulled on Asriel’s ears and was promptly knocked-out by Angel; they both managed to have fun.

Angel had completely forgotten about the cancelled UN summit.

Everything was well.  
  
Then the bomb went off.  
  
Angel barely had time to throw up a half-formed barrier before they were knocked down from the force of the blast.

Once their vision started to clear, they went through the same emergency motions: Check the team’s condition, check the immediate area, check supplies.

Angel was fine, they could barely see out of their left eye, and they had a piece of metal sticking out of their shoulder, but they still had 38 HP left, so they were fine. They needed to check on Asriel.

After a few moments, they found him.

Angel ran to Asriel, and…

There was large hole in his lower torso.

…This, this couldn’t be happening! This had to be a sick joke!

Asriel could barely speak, “An…gel… I’m, sorry… looks, like…”

Asriel started coughing, wet dust was leaking from his mouth. “Shh, it’s okay Asriel, it’s gonna be alright, I… I…”

Despite everything, Asriel smiled, “I’ll… see you soon…Angel……”

Asriel turned to dust in Angel’s arms.

Angel started to reach for Asriel’s SOUL, but they stopped themself from absorbing it.

Asriel’s SOUL shattered. He was gone.

…

…

…

The anger. The rage. The HATRED.

It consumed Angel’s every thought.

‘I WILL MAKE THEM SUFFER!!! I’LL TEAR THEIR SOULS FROM THEIR STILL LIVING CARCASSES, AND TORTURE THEM UNTIL THEY BREAK!!! AND EVEN THEN, I WILL NOT LET THEM DIE!!! THEY WILL SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY WHEN I FIND THEM!!!’

…

But not today…

Angel stood up, to an onlooker, they would have appeared to be completely broken, their will to fight, no more.

But that wasn’t the case.

Angel closed their eyes and reached out with their Determination.

**File 3 Loaded**

Angel awoke to the sound of their alarm-clock blaring.

They reached out with blue magic and pressed the snooze button, gently this time.

They quietly got out of bed, and made their way to Asriel’s bed.

Asriel was crying, “I’m sorry, Angel… I’m sorry…”

Angel reached out to pat Asriel’s head. “Everything is fine, Azzy. I’m the one who should be apologizing… This is all my fault…”

Asriel suddenly sat up and hugged his sibling, “No! It’s not your fault… These things… happen… a lot… *sniff*”

Once Asriel had calmed down, Angel spoke, “Do… do you want to talk about it?”

Asriel nodded, “I, think that would help… please…”

“Okay…”

They both cried. Today was going to be a bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: The RESET Button
> 
> Well… That happened… Oof… Just… Oof…  
> I feel kind of bad for writing this…  
> I’m over it now! (Mostly)


	6. The RESET Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After disaster strikes, Angel uses the ultimate trump card: the RESET button. Angel and Asriel discuss the concept of failure, and joke about Angel's name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Reference to Dark Themes, including but not limited to: Death of a Minor, Mass Murder, Terrorism, Death and Genocide. You have been warned.

_“Behold, brother! Tower de Angel!” Angel made a show of gesturing to the building around them._

_Asriel could hardly believe what he was seeing, “Do… Do you own ALL of this? That’s amazing!”_

_Angel’s ‘Mage Tower’ truly was amazing._

_Originally, especially powerful, or especially reclusive, mages would isolate themselves from other people by building a tall tower in the middle of a secluded area. The goal was to enable a mage to conduct more dangerous or haphazard research without risk of endangering others, or to ensure other people did not mess with their experiments. Or perhaps ancient mages just liked being left alone, Angel could relate._

_A few years ago, Angel uncovered, the location of an abandoned mage tower. It wasn’t just any mage tower, this tower once belonged to the first of the Seven. This powerful Sorcerer’s name and identify were lost to history, they were only known as ‘Delta.’ A rather generic call sign, but back in the day, there probably weren’t as many clichés._

_Either way, Delta’s Tower was abandoned, but well-preserved. Not only that, it was located at the top of Mt. Ebott, a mountain that was once considered sacred to both humans and monsters._

_The tower was concealed by powerful magic that created a solid illusion, allowing people to climb to the mountain’s ‘summit.’ Should anyone ascend to the summit, they would find nothing unusual. All the while they would be standing atop a large magic barrier, that looked like any other mountain on the outside, leaving the tower beneath completely hidden. After all, who was going to climb such a tall mountain and start digging down? This wasn’t Minecraft._

_After Angel negotiated a land deal with the United States, the monsters traded a piece of the Netherworld in exchange for a piece of the Overworld. Mt. Ebott, and the lands surrounding it, now belonged to the monsters. That included the tower._

_Angel dispelled the illusionary barrier and ‘officially’ claimed the tower as their own. Angel decided to keep the tower’s old name: The Red Tower. Apparently, Delta was just as bad at naming things as Asgore._

_Angel couldn’t help but giggle at Asriel’s star-struck expression. “You haven’t seen anything yet! This place has a library, a study, an alchemy lab, a lounge/living room area, a kitchen that I refurbished about a year ago, don’t ask how… not to mention a bathroom, two bedrooms, two medical rooms, and FIVE different storage rooms! There is also a large balcony at the top! This eight-story tower has it all!”_

_Asriel was practically hopping up and down in excitement, “This is SO COOL! You have your own secret hideout!”_

_“Well… it’s not really secret, every human and monster knows where it is. Despite this, the front door is secured with such powerful magic that even I couldn’t dispel it. You can’t teleport into or out-of the tower without being added to the wards’ ‘Allow’ lists. So it is VERY secure.” Angel turned to Asriel, with a very pleased grin on their face, “Plus, it’s OUR hideout now.”_

_Asriel looked like he might faint for excitement, “Really? You, you’re gonna let me use the hideout too? Thanks, Angel! You’re the bestest best friend anyone could ask for!”_

_Asriel quickly hugged Angel. Angel was about to comment on how ‘bestest’ isn’t a word, but they decided to just let Asriel have his moment. They lightly petted Asriel’s head._

_After Asriel released Angel, they continued, “Listen, Azzy. Everyone knows about this place, but NO ONE is allowed inside; it’s not much of a hideout if just anyone can walk in, now is it? Sans, Papyrus, Asgore, Toriel… NO ONE is allowed in here, got it?”_

_Asriel nodded, “Okay, Angel! I promise I won’t let anyone in here, but…” Asriel looked concerned for a moment, “What if something happens? What do we do then?”_

_Angel smiled warmly, “I rigged this place with a special ward, if someone in the tower falls below half HP, and there is no one else in the tower, the tower will automatically launch a distress flare that can be seen from town. Either way, I want you to promise me something.”_

_Angel suddenly looked VERY serious, “If something happens to me, I want you to come here, to the tower. Lock-up everything, turn this place into a fortress, I’ll show you how later. Then, I want to you to enter the secret room, behind the bookshelf… and DESTORY the magic prison inside. Can you do that for me?”_

_Asriel was confused, and a bit nervous, “Okay, but why? Why do you have a magic prison in your tower? What’s in it?”_

__

_“…The embodiment of self-destructive curiosity.”_

  


* * *

  


Angel and Asriel sat down, staring at their drinks. Neither one wanted to be the one to start the inevitably somber conversation, but it needed to be done.

In the safety and privacy of the Red Tower, they could discuss… things.

Angel spoke first, “…Would it help if I just explained everything? I know that you already know it all, but… would it help make you feel better?”

Asriel said nothing, he simply nodded his head, still staring into his cup of golden flower tea.

“…Okay. I guess is should start with explaining ‘how’ first…” Angel began the length explanation. This was not the first time they had explained this; they knew the spiel by heart now…

  


* * *

  


Determination; humans define it as ‘The act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.’ Monsters define it as ‘The will to keep living.’

Both of these definitions are incorrect.

Determination is nothing more, or less, than ‘The power to change fate.’

Determination, like the other SOUL traits, has been researched and redefined so many times, that one could be forgiven for thinking Determination was a living, thinking thing.

That’s because it is.

Determination was a dynamic concept, it could change itself at any time, or rather, a person’s Determination could be changed at any time.

Even Delta could not, or would not, define Determination as any one static thing. Instead, they loosely categorized it as ‘Grim’ Determination, the desire to change fate through destruction; and ‘Hopeful’ Determination, the desire to change fate through preservation, or creation.

Angel hated both of these descriptions. They preferred to think of Determination in a more object-orientated way. More precisely: Self-Determination, External-Determination, and World-Determination.

Self-Determination: The desire to change fate in regards to oneself, either directly, such as refusing to die, or through changing the immediate circumstance surrounding oneself.

External-Determination: The desire to change parts of the world, some of which have little or nothing to do with oneself.

World-Determination: The desire to change the entire world, to shape the world into something else. This power is not always used to make the world better; sometimes it was used with malicious intent…

Angel had all three forms of Determination in spades. In fact, they were the most Determined SOUL in existence. Their Determination was so great; they could do the impossible, as many times as they wanted to.

This is what allowed them to use the SAVE System.

The SAVE System allowed Angel to meddle with time itself. It allowed Angel to ‘go back’ to a previous point in time.

If Angel was killed, or if they simply wished it, they would be taken to the Dark Room, a place of total nothingness, where they could access the SAVE System. From there, they had four options available to them.

Continue: The act of simply allowing time to flow normally, without alteration. If Angel was still alive, then they would return to the exact moment they had entered the Dark Room. Time had no meaning in that place, after all.

SAVE: The act of ‘Marking’ a point in time, so that Angel could return to that point later.

LOAD: The act of returning to a marked ‘Save Point.’

RESET: The act of resetting the entire world, returning everything to a major milestone in Angel’s life. In this case, a RESET would send Angel back to the moment they first awoke in the Netherworld, after their long fall.

What made the SAVE System truly insidious, was not the ability to interfere with time, but to interfere with memories. Whenever Angel would LOAD or RESET, EVERYONE’S memoires would be RESET as well. No one would remember all the different times they had lost. No would remember all the times they had died. No one would remember ANYTHING… except Angel.

Humans were not as nice as monsters believed. There were countless timelines where Angel had tried to establish a lasting peace between the two races, only for those efforts to be crushed, destroyed by those who thought they were above consequence…

Angel had to start recording their various ‘runs’ in order to keep track of what strategies worked, and which ones did not. They had over a dozen black books, filled with notes and failed strategies, all recorded with a special ink that Angel concocted so that their notes were not lost between RESETs.

No matter how many times Angel failed, no matter how many times they died… they refused to give up. They were Determined to give their friends, their family, the perfect happy ending they deserved.

But now, Asriel had been dragged into this special hell.

During timeline #3, Angel messed up, badly.

Asriel tried to protect Angel, and was killed… he turned to dust in Angel’s arms. Angel overcome with grief, reached out and absorbed Asriel’s SOUL… And with it, gained immense power. Angel knew that humans could absorb monster SOULs, but only the SOUL of a Boss Monster could survive long enough to be absorbed. What they didn’t know, was that the stronger the bond between the SOULs in life, the stronger the result of absorption in death.

With Asriel’s SOUL, Angel was strong enough to level cities. They could unleash such destruction, that even the culmination of the Time of Troubles was not but a windy day in comparison.

Angel unleashed absolute HELL upon the humans who dared to harm their brother. They could have committed genocide against the whole of humanity, and they would have too… Such was the extent of the grief that blinded them.

The only thing that stopped them was a familiar voice in the back of their mind, “Angel! Stop! They don’t deserve this!”

It was Asriel’s voice. In absorbing Asriel’s SOUL, Angel had forced Asriel to bear witness the Angel’s genocidal fury.

They stopped their assault and fled.

They did not flea in the conventional sense, instead, they RESET. They RESET the entire timeline. They simply wished to make Asriel forget the horrible things Angel had done, the things they had forced him to witness.

They failed.

Back in the Netherworld, Asriel found them much faster than he should have. The look on his face, it was a look of fear. Asriel was terrified.

He rushed to Angel’s side and healed them as he always did. But when he was supposed to ask for Angel’s name, he said, “Please, Angel… Promise me… Promise me you won’t kill, and you won’t be killed…”

It was in that moment that Angel knew: **Asriel remembered the RESET.**

From timeline #4 onward, Asriel would remember every LOAD, every RESET… every death.

Angel offered to take away his ability to remember, but he refused. “Angel, if you try to take this away from me… I swear I will never forgive you! All this time, I knew something was hurting you, but I could never figure out what. I tried to help you however I could, but it wasn’t enough. I never want to feel that helpless again! If you’re gonna try to save the world, then I will too!”

And that was that.

Asriel later learned, the hard way, why Angel had made this offer. Asriel witnessed his family turn to dust more times than he could count. He witnessed Angel lose themselves to mindless bloodlust, driven to the edge of madness by grief and hatred.

He witnessed the end of his entire world.

The nightmares still haunted him; they haunted Angel, too.

But… Despite everything… They kept going.

They refused to give into despair, into hatred… they kept trying, they kept Resetting, they would not stop until they had saved the entire world.

…Even if it cost them their lives…

  


* * *

  


Angel finished drinking their tea, “…Some say ignorance is bliss, those people are right… but even so, I refuse to just pretend these problems don’t exist. Even if I could get away with it, just run away from my problems… I won’t do it. I owe it to everyone to fix this future, to turn it into something beautiful.”

Asriel nodded, his own drink still untouched, “I feel the same way. If I can help people, I will. All though… I can’t help but notice something… Your name is ‘Angel’ and you are attempting to save people from oppression, so… I don’t know a whole lot about human religions, but doesn’t that make you a literal angel… or something?”

Angel glared at Asriel with such intensity that Asriel started shaking, “ **No.** Besides, I find that the only difference between an Angel and a Demon is perspective. After all, if an angel were to grant a boon to your enemies, would they not be as a demon in your eyes? Good and evil are more subjective than people like to think. Turns out, the world is more complicated than a storybook.”

Asriel sipped his tea, it was cold, “…Does that mean… That the person who is doing this to us has a reason? Maybe we could talk this out and—”

“Asriel. No. This person, our _Arch-Enemy_ , they desire nothing more than power. They are a megalomaniac; they desire power for the sake of having power. Even if they had all the power in the world, it would never be enough. They will not stop, only death will end their reign of tyranny.”

Asriel downed what was left of his cold tea, “…But you promised you wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Angel shook their head, “Asriel… If I had to choose, between breaking that promise, and letting someone die… would you still want me to keep it?”

Asriel said nothing.

“…Exactly. Our Arch-Enemy has killed countless people, humans and monsters alike, across countless timelines. They have never once shown mercy, if there was ever a person who did not deserve mercy, it is them.”

Asriel’s response was quiet, so quiet Angel almost didn’t hear it, “Okay. I trust you, Angel. No mercy…”

“Thank you, brother. I promise, I will not fail you this time!”

Asriel shook his head, “Angel, you haven’t failed me, you haven’t failed anyone! You once told me that the only true failure was giving up and never trying again. You haven’t stopped trying to save people, therefore you haven’t failed! See? It’s that simple!”

Asriel gave Angel a smile. Angel felt their eyes start to tear-up, “Heh, how did YOU become the wise one?”

Asriel giggled, “That’s easy; I listened to my best friend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: When at First You Don't Succeed…
> 
> Fun Fact: Toby Fox, creator of Undertale, cited ‘Breath of Fire 3’ as an inspiration for Undertale. The final boss’ battle music for this game is titled ‘Self-Determination.’ Coincidence? I don’t think so!


	7. When at First You Don't Succeed…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Asriel secretly tip-off the humans to the bomb threat. Angel plants evidence. Sans asks Papyrus a question. An investigation bears fruit.

_Angel closed their eyes and focused. The world fell away, leaving only the Dark Room behind._

_Angel opened their eyes. They blinked. They blinked again. No matter how many times they repeated this pattern, the result was the same._

_There were seven._

_Seven Save Files._

_This was not possible. There could only be one ‘Save File’ per SOUL. No amount of Determination could break that rule._

_And yet, here they were… seven in total._

_Angel decided to experiment, they returned to the waking world and…_

**File 2 Saved**

_…they lifted their pen with blue magic, and hurled it into the wall. It struck the wall with enough force to get stuck…_

**File 3 Saved**

_…they pulled the pen out of the wall and let it fall to the floor. They then opened their book, made a mental note of the page number, and removed the bookmark. They closed the book and placed the bookmark on top of it._

**File 1 Saved**

_They picked up the bookmark and held it in their right hand._

**File 4 Saved**

_It was time to begin the experiment._

_Angel dropped the bookmark and watched it fall to the floor._

**File 4 Loaded**

_The bookmark was in their hand again._

_They tore it in half and watched one half fall to the floor, they held onto the other half._

**File 4 Loaded**

_The bookmark was in their hand again, entirely intact._

_“Looks like the rules are still the same…” Angel said to themself, “Now for phase two.”_

**File 1 Loaded**

_The bookmark was on top of the book and the pen was still on the floor._

**File 4 Load Failed**

_“…What?”_

**File 4 Load Failed**

_“…How could it fail?” Angel returned to the Dark Room and checked the files. File 4 had no data in it, it was completely blank. Files 1-3 were intact, while the unused Files 5-7 were still blank. Angel left the Dark Room, and tried to…_

**File 5 Load Failed**

**File 6 Load Failed**

**File 7 Load Failed**

_Angel already knew loading a blank file would fail, but they had to make sure. They picked up the book and placed it on the floor. They held onto the bookmark._

**File 4 Saved**

_Angel checked File 4 via the Dark Room; everything looked fine. “Let’s try that again…”_

**File 1 Loaded**

_The book and bookmark were on the table again. They checked File 4 again; it was blank._

**File 4 Load Failed**

_“Hmm…”_

**File 2 Loaded**

_The pen and book were on the desk, the bookmark still inside the book. Angel double-checked the page number; it was still the same. “And now…”_

**File 1 Load Failed**

**File 3 Load Failed**

**File 4 Load Failed**

_Angel grabbed the pen and dropped it onto the floor._

**File 2 Loaded**

_The pen was on the table again. Angel returned to the Dark Room. All the files were blank, except for File 2._

_“I knew it… looks like when I LOAD, all Files that were made AFTER that point are lost. This means I cannot jump FORWARD by Loading a File from the future. I already know that a RESET or a TRUE RESET will clear ALL the Files… Therefore, this quirk does not help me.”_

_Angel mulled over their newly expanded, albeit, still-limited powers, “If I can’t cheese the system by jumping forward, I’ll just have to treat the additional Files as redundancies. I will need a system to avoid confusion…”_

_“Hm… I shall use them thusly: File 1 will be updated on the first day of every month. File 2 shall be updated every Sunday. File 3 will be updated every day. I long since perfected the ability to SAVE while sleeping, so I shall SAVE a few moments before I awaken; However, I shall not update more than ONE of these Files every morning, there is no point in using more than one at any given time after all.”_

_“As for the others… File 4 will be used in the event of something especially important, something that may have long-reaching consequences. Files 5 and 6 shall be used throughout any given day, before battles or important meetings, etc. File 7 shall be used only in an emergency. I shall not use it unless I DESPERATELY need another File for something important.”_

_Angel nodded to themself, “Yes, this should work nicely. I will commit this to memory at once.”_

_It would take another failed timeline before Angel would uncover the reason behind their six new Save Files: The SOULs of the six fallen children, in their final act, bestowed their Files upon Angel._

__

_Angel would never learn why._

  


* * *

  


After Angel and Asriel had their little heart-to-heart at the Red Tower, they both decided it would be best to inform the authorities of the threat. Angel had made several anonymous calls to law enforcement over the course of countless RESETs; they could practically do so in their sleep now.

Of course, Angel still had to FIND the bomb first.

Angel had the ability to sense aggression and hostile intent; with this power, they could evade attacks that would have otherwise caught them off-guard.

The problem with bombs was that they were not living things; they had no hostile intent.

Normally, this would not be a problem, even if a knife had no intent, the person holding or throwing it did. That was all Angel needed. The aggression would ‘flare up’ whenever someone would attack.

However, with bombs, the aggression would spike when it was armed, not when it exploded. This was how Angel was surprised during the attack; they could not sense intentions that were no longer present, nor could they sense anything beyond a range of approximately one kilometer.

This is why Angel hated bombs; they were the weapon of choice for cowards and weaklings: You could strike at people while running away, or strike at people after having already fled.

New York City was a big place, but with the power of teleportation, and having been witness to the explosion, they were able to find the bomb easily enough.

Okay, they knew where it was, they also knew it was a time bomb, rigged to go-off at about 2 p.m., now they just needed to call it in.

But first…

Angel was going to take care of two problems at once. After all, they were nothing if not pragmatic. They teleported to the home belonging to an anti-monster extremist; there they found a shoddily assembled bomb. Unlike the one in the New York sewers, this one wasn’t armed. Regardless, they knew it would be armed soon enough.

This particular extremist was a man named Mathew Coalbit, not to be confused with Coalbin, Angel used to get those names confused. Coalbit was a rather predictable man; every single timeline, without fail, he would launch two terrorist attacks against monsters. The first would be a simple bomb that only ever worked one-in-four timelines. The second would be an attempted mass-shooting, most of the time he would be caught by the human’s border patrol, then attempt to shoot his way out, only to be killed before even reaching Ebott City.

Coalbit was an absolute idiot. Despite this, he had his uses. If Angel played their cards right, they could use Mathew Coalbit against his older brother, Anthony Coalbit, a rather unscrupulous man who also harbored anti-monster sentiments.

All Angel had to do was get the younger brother arrested for attempting to kill monster-sympathizers and the older brother’s reputation would tank. Since Anthony Coalbit was already rather unpopular, his party would openly denounce him and his career as a State Senator would be over.

Two birds, one stone.

Angel used blue magic to carry a piece of the incomplete bomb, they couldn’t touch it without getting their fingerprints on it, then they teleported back to the sewers and dropped the piece next to the active bomb. They then teleported to the surface and anonymously reported the bomb to the FBI.

Once the FBI found the bomb and the bomb piece Angel planted, they would assume that the younger Coalbit brother was responsible, they would search his apartment and find the other bomb, he would be arrested for terrorism, and the older Coalbit brother would be finished.

‘Despite the UN meeting being cancelled,’ Angel thought to themself, ‘This has been a surprisingly productive day.’

  


* * *

  


Sans wouldn’t consider himself a trusting skeleton. He was a little too pessimistic to be trusting, but even so, he tried to be a little bit more like his younger brother, Papyrus. Papyrus wanted to see the good in everyone, even if it wasn’t there in the first place…

Sans did mean ‘a little bit’ after all.

Sans wouldn’t consider himself a mistrustful skeleton either, but despite his best efforts…

He couldn’t bring himself to trust ‘Ambassador’ Angel.

Sans tried, he really did, to trust the small human. But he never could.

He knew the human was carrying some heavy emotional baggage, so much so that they wanted to end it all, but there was always something… off, about them.

For one thing, they always looked so bored. Like nothing surprised them, ever.

For a second thing, they liked fighting. They REALLY liked fighting. They were good at it, too. So good, in fact, it made Sans nervous. Whenever he saw them fight or spar or practice, it felt like something was tugging at the back of his skull: ‘This kid could end you and everyone you love.’

Sans could never shake that feeling; he even lost sleep over it, from time to time.

Sans knew the kiddo could be trusted, but even so…

Sans needed more information, and he would be damned if he was willing to ask Angel about it. Luckily, he knew someone who was just as observant as he was, someone he knew he could trust.

“‘sup bro, you know up-dog?”

Papyrus turned away from the breakfast spaghetti he was cooking, “SANS! FEET OFF THE TABLE! ALSO, WHAT’S ‘UP-DOG?’”

Sans smiled and took his slipper-covered feet of the table, “not much, what’s up with you?”

“NYEH! SANS, IT IS TOO EARLY IN THE MORNING FOR YOUR TERRIBLE JOKES!”

“come on, pap…”

“OH NO…”

“just throw me a _bone_ here.”

Papyrus sighed, “BREAKFAST IS OFFICIALLY RUINED!”

Sans’ grin grew wider, “i guess that means…”

“DON’T. YOU. DARE.”

“…it _broke-fast_.”

Papyrus said nothing, he simply served Sans his spaghetti… by dumping it onto Sans’s skull.

“heh, i _regret-ti_ nothing.”

“SANS. I WILL DISOWN YOU,” Papyrus dead-panned, “NOW GO TAKE A BATH! YOU HAVEN’T BATHED IN AT LEAST THREE DAYS!”

Sans shrugged, “welp, guess i got no choice. but first, i wanna pick your skull for a bit.”

Papyrus started washing the spaghetti pot, “FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING, BROTHER!”

Sans hesitated, he didn’t want to get Papyrus involved, so he had to watch what he said, “the kiddo’s doing really well, huh? hard to believe how much has happened, all thanks to them…”

“I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, SANS! THE SMALL HUMAN HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR US! THEY DESTROYED THE GRAND BARRIER! THEY HELPED UNDYNE AND ALPHYS GET TOGETHER! I HEARD THEY EVEN HELPED 01 AND 02 GET TOGETHER AS WELL! CONSIDERING THEY HAVE FLIRTED WITH ALMOST EVERY MONSTER THEY HAVE MET, AND THEIR ABILITY TO PLAY MATCHMAKER… I HAVE WONDERED IF THEY ARE ONE OF THOSE ‘CUPID’ THINGS THE HUMANS WERE TALKING ABOUT IN FEBRUARY!”

“ya know what? i can totally see that. i don’t think the wings would really suit them though…”

“I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE! UNLESS THE HUMAN THOUGHT OTHERWISE, OF COURSE! BUT, I DOUBT IT! THEY TOLD ME ONCE THAT THEY LOOK TERRIBLE IN WHITE. I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THEM UNQUESTIONABLY ON THIS MATTER!”

“anyways… the kid has done the impossible so many times i gave up trying to keep count, but… don’t ya think… that things are going… a little TOO smoothly? i know the kid’s determined as all hell, but… this is a bit much… i mean, it’s starting to look like one of alphys’ animes.”

“…WHAT DO MIND-CONTROL KISSES HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?”

“the other kind of anime.”

“…GASP! DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A GIANT FIGHTING ROBOT?”

“…the OTHER, other kind of anime.”

“…THE ONE WHERE THE HUMAN MAKES FOOD SO GOOD THAT PEOPLES CLOTHES FLY OFF WHEN THEY EAT IT?”

“…the OTHER, OTHER—wait… that’s, uh… you made that last one up, right?”

“…SADLY, NO. ANIME IS WEIRD, SANS! AFTER ALL! I HAVE FED MY SPAGHETTI TO MANY MONSTERS, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO CLOTHING-RELATED ISSUES YET! CLEARLY, THE ANIME IS INACCURATE! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Sans couldn’t help but snort slightly at that, “huh, when you put it that way… but seriously, the kind of anime where the hero always wins, ‘cause of repeated deus ex machina crap.”

Papyrus was confused, what did ‘God from the machine’ even mean? After a moment, Papyrus recognized it as a figure as speech. What Sans was trying to say… “YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE GOING OUR WAY, BECAUSE SOME UNSEEN FORCE IS HELPING US? OR, PERHAPS YOU ARE SAYING THAT THE SMALL HUMAN IS THE UNSEEN FORCE THAT IS HELPING US?”

Sans snapped his fingers, “got both of ‘em in one, bro. things seem WAY too convenient, or maybe i’m just being paranoid…”

Papyrus turned off the water and dried his hands, “NO, YOU ARE QUITE RIGHT BROTHER! I TOO, HAVE FELT THAT SOMETHING IS OFF ABOUT OUR HUMAN FRIEND. BUT! I KNOW, THAT DEEP-DOWN! THEY ARE DOING THEIR BEST TO HELP US! THEY ARE A GOOD PERSON, SANS! YOU CAN TRUST THEM!”

Sans shrugged nonchalantly, “who said i didn’t trust ‘em?”

Papyrus turned to Sans, “SANS. DON’T TREAT ME LIKE I’M A FOOL. I KNOW YOU, BROTHER; YOU WOULDN’T BE ASKING ME ABOUT THE HUMAN IF YOU TRUSTED THEM.”

Sans chuckled, “heh, looks like ya found me out. ah well, thanks for humoring me paps. i appreciate it.”

“ANYTIME, SANS! NOW GO BATHE! YOU’RE GETTING SPAGHETTI ALL OVER MY NICE CLEAN FLOOR.”

Sans nodded and took a ‘shortcut’ to the bathroom. He used blue magic to lift the spaghetti off his skull. He decided to take a small bite, ‘huh… it’s… actually edible? heh, way to _goat_ tori.’

Sans made a mental note to use that pun on Toriel later.

  


* * *

  


They sat in a dimly-lit conference room. The Private Investigator popped his knuckles, not because he wanted to intimidate anyone, but because he was BORED. The US President and the Vice-President were already here, so who were they waiting on?

The unspoken question was answered, when a rather small woman entered the room. She squinted in the dim lighting. She looked like she was about to complain, but thought better of it.

After the lady was seated, President Ericson spoke, “Now that we are all here, finally, we may begin.” Ericson nodded to the PI, “I presume you already know me and my Vice-President, this—”

The PI interrupted him, “I know who she is, she’s the Secretary of Education, Diana Russell. Why are you here, Diana? I dunno about you, but I don’t see any abuse cases for you to ignore here…”

Diana simply adjusted her obviously fake glasses, “Alleged abuse, not that I would expect a backwater hick to understand the difference.”

The PI smiled, “Now, how can I understand ya when yer talking all that there crazy cow-shit?”

Ericson was not amused, “Enough, both of you! Mr. Thomas, you are a rather well-known Private investigator, your skill at uncovering information is quite impressive. In fact, my friend here…” Ericson nodded at Colson, “Had nothing but good things to say about you, at least in terms of your speed and efficiency.”

Thomas shook his head, “Yeah, I’ll bet. No offense Mr. Prez, but can ya just tell me what ya want?”

“How much do you know about Ambassador Angel?”

Thomas shook his head again, “I don’t do politics, this jerk-off can tell ya why.” He points an accusatory finger at Colson, “Plus, I don’t dig up dirt on kids, personal policy. So unless you have a damn-good reason fer askin’…”

“I’ll give you two good reasons,” Ericson made a show of counting the reasons on his fingers, “Mister and Misses ‘Angel.’ Is that good enough for you? Unless this child was borne from nothing, they have parents out there, somewhere… Parents that are likely worried about them. And even if they don’t have any living relatives, they have a LOT of people claiming to BE their relatives. If this continues…”

“…The kiddo may get hurt, or a protracted legal battle will ensue.” Thomas sighed, “God, I hate those.”

Ericson nodded and folded his hands in front of his face, “Indeed. We could easily sort this whole mess out if we could run a DNA test, but Angel has refused. We can’t force them, not that I would want to… Regardless, we were hoping you could shed some light on the situation; anything you can find would be helpful.”

“…What EXACTLY do you need?”

Ericson sighed, “If you could find their real name, or birth name, that would be enough. We will pay you three times your normal rate. Plus a bonus, if you wish.”

The PI rubbed his chin in thought, “Maybe I already got what ya want… Let’s say twenty grand, flat?

Ericson nodded once, “Done.”

“…Huh, I was jokin’… But, I’ll take it. Right, so here’s how it went—And no interruptions from the jerk-off and jill-off, got it?”

Both Colson and Diana sneered, but said nothing.

Thomas continued, “Right, here’s what we know… Angel, the kid, has red eyes. Needless to say, that’s not exactly common. Also, they look Caucasian, they got black hair and are so androgynous it hurts. But you know what they say, judging books and all that.

So, we can’t go by looks alone, plus you can change all that with surgery and stuff, plus magic, maybe. Anyways, we got more we can go off of: Language and dialect. The kid speaks perfect English, I can also say that they speak near-perfect Spanish, French and, I’ve heard, Japanese as well. I can’t place their accent, it sounds vaguely American, but that doesn’t tell us shit here.

The kiddo claims to be ten years-old, and, if I’m honest… I believe ‘em. Not only that, they claim their birthday is September 15th, 2048. Of course, they could be lying about that…

So… we got a white, black-haired, red-eyed, ten-year-old kid who speaks multiple languages, has an implacable accent, and is smarter than most people I know… Yeah, this isn’t gonna be easy…

…Is what I would say if I was a scrub! The _eyes_ have it, ya know. As you are no doubt aware, Interpol has this HUGE database of missing kids, anyone can run a search there and see if the kid they found in the woods, or whatever, was reported missing.

So, I did a quick search for kids with red eyes, got quite a few hits. Once I narrowed down this list by birth year, then things got interesting. Only three reported missing: two boys, and one girl. The first boy is dead; they found his body, mangled as hell, so he’s out. The next boy was born in, India, I think? Either way, I found something that made me think it wasn’t him, personal stuff, don’t ask.

That just leaves the girl… And get this, her name is, or perhaps was, Angelica Robinson. Age ten, Caucasian, red eyes, black hair, fiery temper… remind you of anyone? And, And! If that’s not enough, guess when she was reported missing, September 16th, 2058: The same day the sky flashed, the same day the Barrier broke.

The police report, that I totally was allowed to read by the way, said that Angelica’s parents claimed she was acting strangely for a few days before she disappeared. She would sneer whenever she was spoken too, like she was constantly angry. But, what REALLY sticks out to me was the fact that she just, left… She opened her parent’s apartment door, said she ‘was going away,’ walked out and just, disappeared… Poof! Gone.”

Ericson nodded slowly, “…And what of the parents? Are they, respectable people?”

Thomas nodded, “Yup, Michael Robinson, the bio dad, is an IT Security advisor at some company, and his wife, Rebecca Robinson, the bio mom, is a failed artist-turned-IT-specialist… she’s a white-hat hacker, okay? They are both middle-class American citizens, and outside of one parking ticket, Mr. Robinson is clean. Mrs. Robinson, on the other hand… one count of drug-possession during her teenage-years, nothing else since then… I’d say these two are above-board.”

Diana was the next to speak, “Did you find any evidence to suggest that Angelica was mistreated?”

Thomas shook his head, “Nah, in fact, I think they are really torn-up over it… But that makes me nervous, ya know?”

“…You too?” Ericson shifted in his chair, “Glad to know it’s not just me…”

Diana was lost, “What do you mean? What could be wrong with this? We have the names of the parents, we know who to contact now. I don’t see a problem here.”

Thomas chuckled, “That’s cuz ya got stuck with resting-bitch-face , ya can’t see shit with that! But, I guess I can spell it out for you… If the kid’s parents were all right…” Thomas leaned forward, “…Then why did Angel CHOOSE to stay with the monsters?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Remembering the Fallen
> 
> The plot thickens… maybe? Also, is ‘Criminal Children’ a Tag on this site? I’m too lazy to check…


	8. Remembering the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore is called by the UN, this time they don't cancel. Undyne is a badass.

_Angel spun around in their new swivel chair; they always wanted to do that!_

_They spun around about twenty or thirty times, this prompted Asgore to speak up, “Ahem! I do not think Toriel would approve of this behavior. You should stop before you get sick.”_

_Angel stopped spinning the chair with blue magic and allowed it to drift to a stop. They now faced down Asgore, King of Monsters, with a serious look on their face. “I know my limitations, Asgore. I also know yours: you, sir, are far too nice for your own good! You are far too nice for the good of your subjects too! It’s high time I gave you a crash course on lying… Congressional Style!”_

_Asgore raised an eyebrow, “I do not believe that lying, regardless of ‘style,’ will be very helpful…”_

_Angel sighed. They knew it; Asgore wasn’t going to last long in a human political environment with that kind of attitude. “Right then! Allow me to motivate you! Let’s say that a human offers to buy a modest portion of a monster food company’s shares, does that seem acceptable?”_

_Asgore nodded, “Yes, that sounds acceptable, ideal even!”_

_Angel’s face remained neutral, “Explain.”_

_“…Well. If humans and monsters are able to peacefully engage in commercial business practices, then humans will have a tangible financial stake in the monster community. This will lessen the likelihood that monetarily-focused humans will support a declaration of war.”_

_Angel nodded, expression still unreadable. “So, if another human wanted to buy shares in the same company, you would let them?”_

_“Indeed.”_

_“I presume you would allow two additional humans to buy shares as well?”_

_Asgore nodded, but said nothing._

_Angel shrugged, “Okay then. Now the monsters on the surface are starving. What will you do now?”_

_Asgore’s confusion was plain on his face, “Um… How and why are monsters starving all of a sudden?”_

_“Simple my dear monarch, those humans I mentioned before… three of them were working together. They each bought some shares in the food-manufacturing company, and then combined their shares to ensure they were the majority shareholders. As a result, they now determine how the company should be run. They fired the monster CEO, replaced them with a human, and now that human is refusing to sell monster food to the monsters living on the surface, instead shipping all that monster food to human-owned stores outside the kingdom.”_

_Asgore scratched his beard, “Uh, is that legal? Under human laws, I mean. Depriving people of food… does not seem ethical, or profitable… I know I do not know that much about business, but I fail to see how refusing to sell food to hungry monsters is a smart business decision…”_

_Angel shook their head, “In the last 50 years are so, humanity has made great progress in developing new and sleazy ways to make money. From selling gambling to children, creating artificial scarcity, hell, one first-world country even re-legalized slavery! The Time of Troubles effectively reversed that law, but still. At this point, the bar is so low, it is subterranean! The point is, if you give humans the ability to control ANYTHING, they WILL make you, and your people, suffer for it. Period.”_

_Asgore looked down at the floor, “Could we not beseech the human government for aid?”_

_Angel scoffed, “Ha! Humans have a long-standing history of publicly condemning such behavior, while celebrating it behind closed-doors. If the government did agree to help, it would NOT be to your benefit. In fact, I would bet my SOUL on their ‘deal’ making things even worse, while offering no tangible benefits whatsoever.”_

_“…I see… Then what would you suggest?”_

__

_A cruel smile broke-out on Angel’s face, “ **Turn their foolish desires against them.** ”_

  


* * *

  


Asgore would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. But being nervous was all right; he would be fine, as long as he did not lose his conviction.

He stood before nearly 200 human delegates, all from different nations. He had been here before, about three months ago. He had to officially declare his kingdom’s peaceful intentions to the entirety of the United Nations, and by extension, the world.

The United States delegate was the first to speak, “King Asgore Dreemurr III, allow me to thank you for answering our summons on such short notice.”

Asgore smiled warmly, “Think nothing of it. I am always willing to answer any questions, or address any concerns, regarding my people. And please, call me Asgore.”

The delegate glanced down at his notes before speaking, “King Asgore, do you know why you have been called here today?”

“I believe this is about the gold you suspect my kingdom of hiding?”

The US delegate opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the United Kingdom delegate, “No, that issue has already been resolved.” The UK delegate shot the US delegate a dirty look. “Instead, we would like to discuss the… I believe you called it the ‘Grand Barrier?’”

Asgore’s expression fell, “Oh… Very well. What did you want to know?”

The US delegate began quickly, as if afraid of being interrupted again, “I believe, it would make this quicker if we were to ensure everyone is on the same page. So let us go over the facts first. I shall read-off a list of known facts regarding the Grand Barrier, and if I say something that is inaccurate, you will correct me. Do you understand?”

Asgore nodded.

“Very well, let’s begin.” The US delegate cleared his throat. “The Grand Barrier is magical in nature. The Barrier was created to prevent monsters from leaving the Netherworld. The Barrier has, or had, existed for approximately 3,000 years. During this time, monsters were trying to destroy the Barrier. The—”

Asgore raised his hand, “That is inaccurate. When we were first banished to the Netherworld, monsters had little food and few resources. We spent the first 200 years simply trying to establish a steady supply of food. It was, hmm… maybe another hundred years after that, before we started looking for a way to destroy the Barrier.”

The delegate nodded, “I see. Just to clarify, you were alive back then, correct?”

Asgore nodded.

The delegate made a note of this, “…Moving on. The Barrier was created by seven human mages.”

Asgore raised his hand again, “Sorcerers. Seven human sorcerers. THE Seven, in fact.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Mage is the term used to describe all magic-capable humans. Sorcerer is the strongest class of mage. They are far more powerful, both physically and magically, than any other mage.”

The delegate made a note of this as well, “Okay then. Despite their best efforts, monsters were unable to breach the Barrier. Over time, seven human children fell into the Netherworld. After the arrival of Angel, the seventh fallen human, the Barrier was destroyed. In fact, the Barrier was destroyed the same DAY that this child fell. Furthermore, the sky in the ‘Overworld’ as you call it, flashed when the Barrier was destroyed.”

Asgore nodded one more, “As far as we can tell, yes. There were no monsters on this side of the Barrier at the time…”

“…Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems a little suspicious that a barrier that was created by seven humans, was destroyed after seven humans fell into the Netherworld. I also find it suspicious that, despite there being seven fallen children, only one of them is still alive. Care to elaborate?”

Asgore sighed; he knew what they were trying to do. Angel’s ‘coaching’ had really opened his eyes to all the dirty tricks that humans would try to pull on him and his people. If he wasn’t careful, this human would spin the narrative to paint Asgore and his people as child-killers.

Asgore knew he wasn’t the best leader, the best king. He wasn’t particularly business-savvy, he wasn’t good at naming things… But, Asgore did have one very powerful, very useful trait: His charisma, his empathy, his ability to put on a brave face, even when he was hurting.

And he was going to use it.

Asgore knew what he had to do, and with Angel’s advice, it would be simple.

Asgore kept his voice low, but still audible, “I know what you are doing. Let me offer you one piece of advice: **Don’t.** I am well aware of how this looks, but you were not there. You were not there when I had to bury six children. You were not there when countless monsters gathered to mourn each and every fallen child. You were not there to bear witness to the SOUL-crushing sorrow and despair.

You. Weren’t. There.”

Asgore stared down the human, the metaphorical fire in his eyes was terrifying, “Every monster grieved, but no monster grieved as much as my wife, Toriel. After six humans had fallen, she had a shrine built to commemorate all of them. It is a beautiful statue, made from gold, silver and platinum. And every day, she would tend to the shrine. Every day she would mourn. Every day… we all hoped… all prayed… that no more children would fall…”

Asgore turned his gaze down to the floor, his face obscured by shadow, “Then… Asriel found them, Angel. They were the seventh human to fall, but unlike the others, Angel had survived… When Asriel came to get me, to tell me of the human he found, the human he had befriended… I could not have been happier. My son had brought the human to us, they were both safe…! But then…”

Asgore remained silent for several moments before continuing, “It was Angel who destroyed the Barrier, not us. Angel risked their life to free us. I thought we had lost them too, like all the others. Asriel, Toriel… they could not stop crying… and there was nothing I could do…”

“I treat Angel as if they were my own child, I care for them deeply. They almost DIED trying to free us…” Asgore returned his fiery-gaze to the human, “I will NOT allow you to discredit or besmirched their sacrifice! I will not allow you to belittle the near-death of my child!”

The room was filled with stunned-silence, no one could bring themselves to argue or dispute Asgore’s words. Everyone could feel the king’s pain, his loss. No one dared to question him.

This was what Asgore was known for, the power to inspire, the power to connect with others; the power to have his message not just heard, but _felt_ , by all those around him.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. I am sure our delegate meant no disrespect.”

Asgore turned to see President Ericson standing a few feet away. Ericson had a sad, forlorn look on his face. “I assure you, that no one here suspects you of any wrong-doing. The fact remains however, that we still don’t know _exactly_ what broke the Barrier…”

Asgore returned the President’s sad expression, “I am sorry. While I would like nothing more than to tell you everything and to put that terrible memory behind me… I cannot tell you. Angel has asked that I refrain from giving you details. Considering that they nearly died, I had no choice but to agree.”

“I understand. Neither I, nor the United Nations, will broach the subject again. But please, ask Angel if they will be willing to share their story with us soon… In any event, you should go home, maybe spend some time with your family.”

Asgore smiled warmly, “Yes, I think is shall. Thank you, President Ericson.”

After Asgore had left, Ericson turned to address the delegates, “Before anyone can complain, I JUST got off the phone with Ambassador Angel. We have agreed to the terms under which the fallen children’s bodies will be exhumed and transported to DC for a full autopsy. The report will be made public as soon as it is finalized. We expect to have the full report by the beginning of next month. That is all.”

Ericson turned and left without another word.

  


* * *

  


Undyne didn’t take orders from anyone, except Asgore of course, but when she got a text from Angel with instructions to use a different patrol route that day…

Undyne didn’t take orders, but she did listen to the advice her friends gave her.

Undyne donned her full armor, helmet and all, kissed Alphys goodbye, and went out on her daily patrol.

The patrol path Angel had given her didn’t make any sense: it failed to cover a large portion of Ebott City. In fact, it had Undyne patrol the eastern-half of the city almost exclusively. Even so, Undyne couldn’t shake the feeling that she should listen to the young human. Undyne felt as if something bad would happen if she refused. She tried to shake the vaguely familiar feeling…

Undyne continued her patrol, looking for any sign of trouble. All she found was the usual sights of Ebott City, monsters waking, going to work, saying ‘hello’ to friends, even the humans seemed relaxed.

The Monster Kingdom technically had Open Borders with the United States, so it was fairly common to see human tourists wandering around. Some of these tourists had a habit of making a nuisance of themselves, but Angel assured Undyne that this was normal, and that any humans NOT making themselves seen were the ones to look out for.

Undyne knew what they were hinting at. She had been trained to read people’s intentions. Monsters looking to cause trouble would carry themselves differently; it turns out humans have similar tells.

After passing the same human for a third time, Undyne was able to spot the telltale signs of trouble.

Undyne thought the human was simply sick the first time she saw him; he looked almost like he was trying to cos-play as a skeleton. It was on the third pass that Undyne remembered something.

Drugs.

Controlled substances were nothing new to Undyne. As captain of the royal guard, she had to lead a few drug busts herself! But monster drugs never caused such drastic changes in appearance. The human looked absolutely awful, his skin looked like it was pull-taut around his bones, his eyes were sunken, and he was so skinny he looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

He looked like a drug-addict.

Undyne wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or concerned that the human was able to walk in such a state. Either way, it didn’t matter if he was human or monster, all drug-addicts could be dangerous. Undyne decided to abandon her patrol and follow the human for a while.

Despite her armor, Undyne could be very quiet when she needed to be. Keeping her distance, she was able to tail the human for a few blocks. Eventually, the human stopped at an intersection.

The crosswalk signal turned green. The human didn’t move.

Undyne didn’t know what was about to happen, but she knew SOMETHING was going down, something bad.

The human swayed slightly to the side, he nearly bumped into a passing bunny monster. “Oh my! Are you alright?” Undyne didn’t recognize the monster from this distance, but the voice sounded familiar. Suddenly, it clicked. That was Bunni, the shopkeeper from Snowdin Town. Undyne’s bad feeling suddenly got much worse.

Undyne started to carefully make her way toward the human.

The human suddenly lunged for Bunni! Bunni cried out as the human wrapped his arm around her throat.

“St-stay back! Or I’ll blow her brains out!” The human held a gun to Bunni’s head; the human had taken her hostage!

Undyne hated hostage situations. Once someone took a hostage, Undyne’s favorite strategy, ‘More Spears!’ was no longer viable. Even more importantly, Undyne’s first priority was the safety of the hostage, and everyone else too. If someone was willing to take a hostage, that meant they were desperate, and desperate criminals were the most unpredictable and the most dangerous.

“Easy there, pal…” Undyne kept her voice even, despite her growing anger. She hated people who took hostages. It was cowardly to use someone else as a shield!

“Stay back!” The human repeated, Undyne was sure the human was too out-of-sorts to hear her. “Any of you freaks try anything, I swear I’ll kill this rabbit… thing!” The other monsters and humans had already backed away from the deranged human.

Undyne discreetly pressed the emergency-call button hidden inside her armor, hopeful another member of the royal guard would get here soon. Undyne didn’t like calling for backup, but she wasn’t about to let her pride get someone else hurt.

Undyne raised her hands in a placating manner, “Easy, human. Easy… Everyone, go inside. Now.”

“D-don’t send them away! I…” The human clearly wasn’t thinking clearly, if he was even coherent enough to think at all.

Undyne did her best not to sound condescending, “Easy, I just thought you didn’t want to be surrounded by monsters. If not, I could ask them to get closer instead…”

“No! I mean… no, send them away! Now!” The human was clearly struggling to make up his mind.

“Okay… Everyone, get inside and stay there.” The bystanders needed no encouragement, they had already fled by the time Undyne finished speaking.

Now it was just her, the human, and his hostage.

“Okay, punk. What do you want?” Undyne knew she could take this wimp, she just needed an opening…

“Don’t call me a punk! You… you disgusting freak!” The human was shaking so hard, he could barely hold his gun. Undyne was afraid he would shoot Bunni by mistake. “You monsters have gold, right? I want gold! Give me gold or this furry rabbit-thing is dead!”

This was bad. Undyne needed a plan…

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. This human was obviously not thinking clearly, on top of that, he didn’t seem to understand monsters or what they were capable of.

It was risky, but she didn’t have time to wait for backup.

“Okay. You win, human. I have some gold stored in my phone, will that work?”

“…Wha—Don’t try to trick me! I—”

“Monsters use magic to store money in our phones. It’s like a credit card, but better. How else are we supposed to carry gold? I weighs a freakin’ ton!”

The human considered this for a moment, he lowered his a gun a tiny amount. “…Show me.” He said.

Undyne slowly pulled out her phone. She accessed her dimensional storage and dropped a box onto the ground in front of the human. A few gold coins spilled out of the box.

The human, having momentarily forgotten about his hostage lowered his gun the rest of the way, and leaned forward to get a better look at the gold.

Undyne seized the moment to attack! She summoned a single spear from the ground; it pierced the human’s hand, causing him to drop his gun. “Fuck!” The human screamed. Undyne didn’t give him any time to recover. She lunged at the human, planting her armored fist in the human’s face! The human fell backwards, he started pulling Bunni down with him.

Undyne wasn’t having that, she wrenched Bunni from the human’s grip. Undyne didn’t have time to be gentle, she shoved the bunny monster away and turned her attention back to the human. “Stay down! I don’t want to hurt you,” Undyne lied, “but if you don’t stop, I won’t hold back!”

The human gasped and swore as he struggled to his feet. Suddenly, the human spun around and—

*Bang!*

Undyne clutched her side, the damn human shot her! He had a second gun, and he shot her!

Undyne knew that bullet ricochets could be just as deadly as straight shots, and while she had perfected a green barrier that ‘caught ‘ bullets rather than deflecting them, she didn’t have time to summon one.

…Undyne knew what she needed to do.

With an angry ‘NGAH’ Undyne rushed the human. The human panicked and fired twice more before being tackled by the Amazonian fish-woman. The human fell to the floor as his dropped second gun. It spun in circles as it slid away.

Undyne summoned a few spears around both guns, the spears formed little cone-shaped cages. Without his guns, all Undyne had to do was finish the fight.

The human tried and failed to stand up. Inside her helmet, Undyne sneered at him. “Here, let me help you up!” Undyne grabbed the human around the waist… and suplexed him straight into the pavement!

Undyne could feel and hear the human’s bones crack. She stood up to examine her handiwork. The human was definitely out-cold. Not even Asgore could withstand Undyne’s suplexes!

Undyne checked the human’s SOUL. He still had 3 HP, he’ll live.

Probably.

Undyne turned to Bunni, “Are you hurt?”

Bunni, still clearly in shock, shook her head.

Two monsters in matching armor came running to the scene.

“Yo! Captain! What happened?! We’re, like, here to help and stuff!” It was RG 01 and RG 02, Undyne could never remember their names. She honestly felt kind of bad about it, but they didn’t mind being called by their uniform numbers.

Undyne removed her helmet, it was getting hot in there, and pointed her thumb over her shoulder, “This punk human attacked this monster. Cuff him and take him to the station. Careful, he’s dangerous!”

RG 01 nodded, “Wow, like, nice job captain. We got this!” 01 walked over to the human, “Damn, did you suplex them? The road is all cracked and stuff!”

RG 02 barely glanced at the human, instead his attention was mostly focused on Undyne. “…Are you hurt, captain?”

Undyne winced, she had been shot three times and human guns were incredibly dangerous. And yet, Undyne was still alive.

Suddenly, she remembered something. Angel and Alphys had worked together to upgrade the royal guard’s armor. They said that human guns could punch right through plate armor, making it useless. However, the little human had developed an enchantment that could make almost anything bullet-proof. Between the two of them, they were able to upgrade the entire guard’s armor.

If they hadn’t improved Undyne’s armor…

Undyne smiled, “I’m fine 02. At least we know this stuff works now! Fuhuhuh!”

02 didn’t seem convinced by Undyne’s attempt to laugh it off, “…Maybe you should… rest?”

Undyne was about to protest, when another surge of pain hit her. The armor may have stopped the bullet, but it still felt like she got punched in the gut by Asgore himself! “I… yeah, I will… AFTER we book this PUNK!”

RG 01 and RG 02 nodded. They cuffed the unconscious human, while Undyne went to pick up her box of coins.

“…What’s that?” asked 02.

“This? It’s a box of chocolate coins. From a distance, the foil wrappings LOOK like gold, but when you unwrap ‘em. Surprise! It’s really chocolate! I got two boxes as gifts, one for Alphys and one for Angel.”

“Cool.” said 01, “Everyone likes chocolate!”

“…Angel likes it a little too much… maybe?” added 02, “…I’ll carry the human, 01.”

“Cool, thanks bro!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Monster Mash Monday
> 
> Never pick a fight with an Amazonian fish-woman.


	9. Monster Mash Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Monsters make national headlines, again. Sans wrestles with complicated feelings. Angel buys time.

“Welcome back, you are watching New America News! Bringing you all the news you need since, 2038!” The middle-aged human gestured to himself, “I’m your host, Donny Vermillion.”

“And I’m Katie Springs.” Said the human woman, she looked like she was in her mid-twenties. “It’s Monday, so you know what that means! It’s time for another installment of our long-running segment, ‘Monster Mash Monday!’”

Donny shook his head, “…I still die a little inside every time I say or hear that. Anyways, we have some big news for all of you at home. If you were wondering if humans could learn to use magic, then wonder no more! The answer is: Yes!”

Katie picked up where Donny left off, “Early last week, Monster Ambassador Angel, along with Monster Queen Toriel Dreemurr, held a press conference in New Kansas City. It was there that they confirmed that humans can indeed wield magic. The only problem is… We have absolutely no idea how to do that. However…”

Donny continued without missing a beat, “Toriel Dreemurr announced that she would be opening a school in Ebott City. This school will teach magic classes, AND it will be open to humans and monsters alike! The Monster Queen also went on to host an AMA, that’s ‘Ask Me Anything,’ on Tumbler later that day. She claimed that she would answer the first 200 questions asked, so long as they were appropriate. There are a LOT of weirdos on the internet.”

“That last part isn’t exactly news…” Katie interjected, “Regardless, if you are watching this online, you can follow the link provided to read the Tumbler posts. But, for those of you who don’t want to sift through all that, we will provide you with the highlights.”

Donny cleared his throat, “First, the school will be run by Toriel Dreemurr herself, I’m guessing she has always wanted to be a teacher… Second, the school will be a grade school. For monsters, grade school lasts from 1st grade to 8th grade. Apparently, they don’t have middle-school in the Netherworld. Third, this school will be named Ebott Grade School. Fourth, the Ebott City Planning Committee will begin construction of Ebott High School once Ebott Grade School is up and running. …Would you mind, Katie?”

“Sure thing, Donny. Fifth, (it was fifth, right?) anyone who wishes to take magic classes must first take a magic safety and aptitude class. And Sixth, ALL classes will be multiracial, meaning all classes will be open to both races!”

“Thank you, Katie. It seems that Secretary of Education, Diana Russell, who has been pushing back against multiracial classes for ‘health and safety’ reasons, has agreed to support this plan. However, insider reports indicate that the true force behind this change of heart was none other than President Henry Ericson. Ericson made a public announcement just yesterday. Here’s the clip…”

Henry Ericson stood at a podium, with the Congressional Building behind him. “People of the United States of America, it gives me great pleasure to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Monster Kingdom. The Board of Education will cooperate with and help coordinate this new education program. I know that some of you will be upset by this change; however, we gain nothing by sticking our heads in the sand! Ignoring the world around us is what led us to the Time of Troubles. It is what led us to fight amongst ourselves over petty differences. We cannot allow ourselves to fall back into our old ways! We cannot allow our fear, our uncertainty, to keep us in the dark. Magic is a tool, like any other, and humanity has never feared our tools. We must learn to harness these new tools if we are to build a better tomorrow!” The audience erupted into applause.

“There you have it,” said Donny, “A new era of learning is about to open up to us. It almost makes me wish I could go back to school. Almost.”

Katie excitedly clapped her hands together, “I would totally go back if it meant I could learn to fly with magic. Wait, CAN you fly with magic?”

Donny shrugged, “No idea, but I’d rather keep my feet on the ground. Either way, there has been no news yet on when, exactly, Ebott High School will be opened. Furthermore, there have been no stated plans to open a ‘magic school’ for adults. Apparently, magic is a young person’s game.”

“That makes sense.” Katie added, “If learning magic is like learning any new skill, it’s easier to learn when you’re young. That is fairly common knowledge; at least, I think it is…”

“It is.” Donny confirmed, “Oh! Before I forget, we at NAN would like to clarify: The research exchange deal, in which monsters gave us SIGNIFICATLY more efficient recycling methods, is STILL in effect. The rumors that the deal was terminated are just that, rumors. Both the United Nations, AND the Monster Kingdom are quite happy with the deal as it stands. Now it is time for a message from our sponsors. Stay tuned to New America News!”

  


* * *

  


Sans woke up from his mid-afternoon nap with a start. It took him a moment to realize that his phone was ringing. Sans was a lazy skeleton, so he gave all of his friends custom ringtones, that way he could tell who was calling him without needing to actually check.

Contrary to popular opinion, Sans worked hard… when he was trying to hardly work, but still.

The fact that his phone was playing a track called ‘Megalo Strike Back’ meant the kiddo was calling.

Sans hastily grabbed his phone and answered, “thanks for calling the helpline for idiot babies, how can i help?”

“Aww, did I interrupt your nap, Sansy~?”

…Shit, Angel was pissed. That line about idiot babies was NOT going to help. “sorry, kiddo. didn’t mean it like that… what’s up?”

“I need you to keep Papyrus busy today, more precisely, keep him off the streets until… 3:00 pm. Can you do that?”

“uh, sure? are ya gonna fill me in, or…?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“i asked, didn’t i?”

“…Very well, some unscrupulous… let’s just call them paparazzi, intend to cause a scene. If you can’t find something headline-worthy… make it up, right? They plan to drive around Ebott City until they see Papyrus, whom they view as an easy mark, once they find him, they will throw a little human girl out of the car. Papyrus, being Papyrus, will try to help the small child, the paparazzi will jump out of the car and claim that Papyrus is attempting to kidnap their child, and attack him.”

Sans’ eyelights went out, he did NOT need to hear about Papyrus getting hurt, even if it didn’t ACTUALLY happen, “…that’s, awfully specific? how did you learn about this?”

“Let’s just say I’m great at ‘predictions.’ How I figured this out is less important than finding a solution, wouldn’t you agree? I can handle things myself, but I need some time, keep Paps at home until three in the afternoon. Is that okay?”

“was paps hurt in your ‘predictions?’”

“No, he handled himself with honor and distinction. The only people who were harmed were the paparazzi.”

“wait, paps actually FOUGHT someone? that doesn’t sound like him…”

“To be fair, he knew the humans threw the child out of the car, he SAW them do it, and he thought they intended to hurt the child further. Of course Paps would play the hero.”

“and why don’t we just tell everyone what happened? i’m sure the kid would speak up if we—”

“She’s mute, and before you ask, yes humans will happily ignore a mute child if she contradicts the narrative. It would not be the first time either. Anyone with a disability tends to be overlooked, or rather, purposefully ignored, as if some physical malady makes them less capable in a mental capacity.”

“…that may be the dumbest thing i have ever heard, and i’ve heard undyne say we just needed to punch the barrier really, really hard.”

Angel chuckled on the other end of the line, “Welcome to the Overworld, get out while you still can. If it makes you feel better, the child is their own daughter.”

“…that just makes me feel worse, kiddo.”

“…Sorry, I’m not very good at pep talks. Regardless, can you handle Papyrus for me?”

“yeah… i guess i can keep paps here, but why don’t you ask him instead?”

“If I did that, Papyrus would worry. He would worry that he did something wrong, that I intend to fire him or something. But if YOU ask him to stay home today, he will instead see it as an opportunity to spend time with his beloved brother.”

“you think paps will listen?”

“He’s your brother, Sans, of course he will. Plus, if you tell him that you already asked me to give him the day-off, he will praise you for your uncharacteristic initiative.”

“heh, you make it sound like i’m lazy or somethin’. don’t worry kiddo, i got this.”

“Good, and there is one other thing. I wanted to let you know that things will get worse before they get better. I can safely say that Papyrus will be able to handle himself… But…”

“…ya still need my help, right? sorry kiddo, but i’m still thinking it over.”

“I understand, I was simply keeping you informed.”

Sans said nothing, he didn’t want to tip the kid off to how scared he was.

“…Sans, you are my best friend— second only to Asriel, of course— I want you to trust me. All of this means nothing if you don’t trust me…”

“i know, kid. i’ll let ya know when i’ve made up my mind. see ya.”

*Click!*

Sans tossed his phone into his miniature trash tornado. He knew that nothing could get damaged in there. The tornado was perfectly stable, nothing inside it would ever collide with anything else. Honestly, it was so safe he could hop in and ride it around.

The last time sans did that was, what, when he was eight? He couldn’t remember.

Sans closed his eyesockets and thought back to the kid’s offer…

The day Angel showed monsters the site of the new monster city, all of Angel’s friends threw a party. While everyone was distracted, Angel practically dragged Sans away in secret.

Angel was fidgeting up a storm, considering that they had flirted with almost every monster they had met, Sans had figured that it was his turn.

He was wrong. What did happen was so much worse.

Angel told Sans about everything: Timelines, broken futures, destroyed lives…

Angel said they wanted to stop it, to stop _them_ from tearing away everyone’s hopes and dreams…

Sans didn’t believe them at first, but the kid knew Sans’ triple secret code word. Sans only ever created that code word as a joke… But the things Angel said…

It was no laughing matter.

If even half of what the kid said was true, then Sans’ theory was not only accurate, but precise.

Altering the very fabric of reality through sheer force of will, it was terrifying to think about. Sans remembered hoping his theory was wrong, because if he was right, then examining the fabric of reality would only draw the attention of… things. Things that could warp reality, break rules, change fate.

Things like Ambassador Angel.

Sans was scared, but at the same time, it was comforting. Sans would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about the kid. They were only ten, and Sans knew that some humans wouldn’t be above assassinating a child. But, there’s no point in trying to kill someone with THAT much Determination.

When Sans used Alphys’ prototype SOUL-scanner, the readings were impossible. Angel’s DT readings were infinite. Literally infinite. As in, any power, any spell that used DT, could never fail… And according to Angel, the RESET button could ONLY be powered by ‘True Determination,’ whatever that meant.

With all the mounting evidence, Sans knew the kid was telling the truth, he didn’t even need to check their SOUL.

Even so, the kid could tear it all away. Everything that Sans and the others had worked for. Everything… gone. Wiped out in an instant, and no one would remember anything.

…Not even Sans.

To be honest, it made it really hard for Sans to keep going. If it wasn’t for that one thing…

Sans asked the kid what their game was, what did they hope to accomplish with all these RESETs?

“ _I want the same thing you want… for my brother to be safe, to be happy._ ”

It was in that moment that Sans knew, Angel wanted to help, they wanted to save people. No ulterior motives, no games, no schemes.

Besides, they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse…

_”Help me SAVE the world, and the RESETs will finally stop.”_

Sans knew in his very SOUL that he could trust them.

If only Sans’ skull could say the same…

He knew the kid was right, he was going to help them… eventually. And for what it was worth, he did appreciate the kid giving him warnings and advice. But what he really appreciated, was the kid giving him time, time to sort out these feelings…

He felt so powerless…

He felt so capable…

He wanted to give up…

He wanted to hold on…

…Yeah, as it turns out, having one’s reality destroyed can really mess you up in the head.

Sans wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but he had to keep Paps home for the day.

Sans didn’t like keeping secrets from his brother, but he knew Paps wasn’t ready to hear the full story. Sans wasn’t going to risk dragging Papyrus into this.

Sans got out of bed and took a ‘shortcut’ downstairs.

  


* * *

  


Time.

Time was an artificial construct created by people under the pretense that the universe itself moves in a linear fashion.

Time was also something Angel needed.

It was almost funny, Angel was basically immortal, with all the time in the world… And yet, they had no time at all. They had so little time, that they would often take breaks in the Dark Room, so they could just, stop. Stop thinking, stop worrying.

Sometimes they would bring Asriel to the Dark Room with them and they would just sit and enjoy the (non-existent) moment.

Having Asriel around always made Angel feel better. Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, that it made Angel feel anything at all.

Angel knew what depression was, but they also knew that depression never afflicted red-SOULs. Either way, if Angel could feel depressed, they would.

Seeing their friends, their family, die right in front of them… it hurt…

Even now, over two hundred timelines later… it still hurt…

The pain of losing someone you care about, it never got easier. There were times that Angel just wanted to scream, they just wanted to lose control and slaughter the ‘people’ responsible for their suffering.

But, that isn’t what Asriel would want…

So they kept going. They kept searching for a, more or less, peaceful solution.

Angel needed time, and if they needed time, they would MAKE time. Not literally, Angel wasn’t that powerful. But they could buy time, stall until all the pieces were in place.

Under normal circumstances, Angel’s job as Ambassador would be surprisingly straightforward: they simply had to manage public opinion.

At the start, when monsters first disclosed themselves, everyone was confused, scared. Once the initial fright wore off, that is when Angel’s work truly began.

The general public was divided into three major camps: pro-monster, anti-monster, and undecided. Angel needed to make sure that public opinion didn’t lean too much towards anti-monster.

Angel knew that it was pointless to try and convince people who were against monsters. Humans were incredibly stubborn, once some humans decided something, they will hold onto that belief, even if it kills them. Angel witnessed many humans kill themselves, or others, because of these foolish beliefs. Human zealotry and hypocrisy were truly terrifying.

Instead, Angel focused on convincing the undecided people to support the monster’s cause. Since monsters had been forced to conserve every piece of ‘hard’ metal they could find, monsters had developed incredible recycling programs and refining techniques. Since the Time of Troubles, humanity was practically obsessed with these things. Since wasteful behavior is what led to the Time of Troubles, it wasn’t hard to see why this was the case.

Angel leveraged new technology and other curiosities to entice people. Angel knew that once humans learned a bit more about monsters, they would see that they were no different from anyone else. They would see that monsters were people, just like them.

That would be enough.

With this, and an open willingness to share information, to be so readily transparent, Angel could buy themself enough time.

This time they would win.

This time their _Arch-Enemy_ would fail.

This time… they would SAVE everyone.

Or die trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Forgiveness is a Privilege
> 
> Angel did the Mash, they did the Monster Mash. It was a graveyard smash.  
> At least I didn’t quote ‘Calling All the Monsters’ …uh oh.  
> *Author gets raided by Disney.


	10. Forgiveness is a Privilege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Asriel hang-out at Alphys and Undyne's house, anime ensues. Toriel and Gaster discuss certain matters. The President meets with an unassuming couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some mention of the Anime Series ‘Black Butler.’ Possible Minor Spoilers for said Anime. ‘Berserk’ is also name-dropped, but that’s all.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Use of innuendo by a minor.

_It had been nearly a week since Angel had broken the Barrier and Toriel was growing increasingly persistent. “My child, you MUST receive a full examination! You have been through quite an ordeal, have you not? We need to be sure there were no… unforeseen side-effects.”_

_Angel sighed, “I’m fine, Toriel. I simply don’t have the time to waste on a medical exam.”_

_Toriel was not going to let it go, “Very well then, if that is the case… you are fired.”_

_“…What?”_

_“If you simply do not have the time to look after yourself AND fulfill your duties as Ambassador, then I must relive you of said duties, effective immediately. Unless, of course, you suddenly have some time to spare…?”_

_Damn this woman, she was worried over nothing! It’s not like Angel could truly die… “Fine, you win. But I want Alphys to be the one to examine me. I trust her… discretion.”_

_Toriel sighed, “Very well, I shall call her and see when she would be available…”_

Later that day, at the Hotland Lab…

_Angel was sitting on a hospital bed. Alphys was standing next to them, looking as nervous as ever, “Um, n-not that I m-mind, but… uh, w-why did you want m-ME to do this?”_

_Angel smiled, “Because I trust you, Alphys. Plus, I wanted to ask about how things are going with Undyne!”_

_Alphys blushed, “Great! Things are going g-great! We talked it out and… we d-decided to move-in together when we get to the s-surface!”_

_“About time, huh?”_

_“You know it! Heh… Um, we are going to do a full examination… So, um, how do I say this…?”_

_Angel shrugged, “I’m gonna have to strip, aren’t I?”_

_Alphys started nervously speaking really fast, it took all of Angel’s concentration just to keep up, “N-normally, no. But, but, the q-Queen wanted a FULL examination, that includes a ph-physical as well! But if you don’t feel comfortable, we can skip it! No problem at all!”_

_Angel shook their head, “It’s okay, Alphys. I trust you, just don’t freak out when you… see it. Okay?”_

_“I, uh… I know what human… er,_ parts _, look like… you know.”_

_Angel chuckled, “…That wasn’t what I was talking about, but good to know.”_

_Angel removed their jacket, then their shirt._

_Alphys could only stare at them, at the marks on their back._

_Two thin scars ran down their back, starting just above the shoulder blades and ending about halfway down their torso. Each scar was about a half-inch thick towards the upper-middle, with the scars becoming thinner the further up or down they went. The two scars were perfectly symmetrical to each other, as if someone had taken great pains to ensure that the marks were completely even._

_Alphys struggled to find her voice, “…W-who d-did this t-to you?”_

__

_Angel turned their head to look at Alphys, “I did.”_

  


* * *

  


Angel sat on the living room couch, a cell phone in their hand, and a disappointed look on their face. “…I understand. Tell Paps ‘hello’ for me.”

“will do, kiddo. see ya.”

*Click!*

Angel let out a sigh and turned to Asriel, who had just returned from the kitchen, “That was Sans, he said that he and Papyrus needed to fill-in for Dr. G at the CORE. Looks like we are forever alone, brother. Forever alone.”

Asriel shook his head, “There’s no need to so melodramatic. Besides, I kinda figured that was why Sans called, and… I was able to talk Undyne and Alphys into letting us sleepover with them instead!”

“…You DO know that they aren’t going to kiss if we are around, right?”

“And why wouldn’t they?”

“Because Toriel told them, ‘Not in front of the children!’ Remember?”

Asriel looked crestfallen, “Aww…”

“There are some things you are simply too young to see, my children.” Toriel’s voice came from the hallway, and a few moments later so did Toriel herself. “Although, I am glad that you were able to reschedule on such short notice.”

Asriel beamed at the praise, “Of course! We are used to changing plans! Right, Angel?”

Angel’s only response was to kiss Asriel on the end of his snout. Asriel bleated in surprise and fell backwards.

“St-stop doing that!”

Angel giggled, “But I love seeing you fall on your as— er, butt…”

Toriel fixed Angel if a patented ‘mom’ stare, “Please, no swearing. I would hate to have to implement a swear jar…”

Angel shrugged and pulled Asriel to his feet, “If you did, I would be broke within a day.”

Toriel sighed, “Your colorful language notwithstanding… I have a meeting with Dr. Gaster tonight; we need to discuss certain matters. So unless Undyne is at risk of burning her house down, would you please stay the night with Dr. Alphys?”

Asriel’s eyes narrowed, “Why? Oof—!”

Angel elbowed Asriel, “Certainly. We understand completely, Toriel.”

Toriel smiled, “Thank you, my children. I shall walk you to Dr. Alphys home.”

“No need,” Angel said, “I know a shortcut.” They wrapped one arm around Asriel and snapped their fingers.

One teleport later, and the Dreemurr children were standing just inside the front door of Alphys’ and Undyne’s new house. Technically, the house belonged to Alphys, mostly because Toriel (rightfully) believed that Undyne would be less likely to destroy something that was under Alphys’ name.

Angel brought one finger to their lips in a ‘shushing’ gesture and quietly made their way to the living room.

“I don’t think Her Majesty would appreciate us showing Mew Mew to the kids.” Undyne was holding Alphys’ box set of the Mew Mew Trilogy. She was looking at it as if she was afraid it would bite her. This was fair, considering that Toriel would be upset if her children watched it.

Alphys shook her head, “And you think ‘Berserk’ is any b-better? I mean, a guy’s h-head gets caved-in at one point! If we let the kids watch that, the Queen would bake US into a pie!”

Undyne tried to come up with a counter-argument. She failed, “…You’re right. Damn! This is so last minute; I don’t have a clue what we should do!”

“D-don’t worry, Undyne. Even if we meet our end, I am sure we will be delicious.”

Undyne was dumb-founded, “Uh… what? Wait, are you still on the pie thing?”

“.,.Yes?”

Undyne laughed, “Ha! Of course you are!” Undyne leaned-in, “…‘Cause you are such a cutie- _pie_.

Angel couldn’t help but snicker at the cheesy pun.

Undyne spun around, “Who’s there!? Show yourself!”

Angel and Asriel stepped-out from around the corner. Angel pretended to pout, “Aww… It was just getting to my favorite part, too!” 

Asriel joined in, “Yeah. But if you two DID kiss… we won’t tell mom.”

Undyne laughed, “Oh my stars! You kids are so weird! Right, Alphys?”

Alphys was stuck in some sort of stupor.

Angel did their best to suppress their laughter, “Oh no! Undyne’s Date Power was too much for the good doctor! Farewell, dear Alphys. Farewell!”

“I’m not dead yet.” Alphys deadpanned, “But if you keep sneaking up on me like that… A-anyways!” Alphys was clearly desperate to change the subject. “We were just trying to decide what Anime we should watch. We, uh, aren’t having much luck… heh…”

“Yeah! You two can decide!” Undyne chimed in, “You want some exciting, action-packed fighting? …Uh, actually… your mom warned us not to let you watch anything too violent…”

Asriel looked disappointed, “When did she tell you that?”

Undyne rubbed the back of her neck, “When she was chewing me o— uh, I mean, when she gave me, what did she call it? A tongue lashing?”

Angel’s cat-like grin could be seen from orbit, “Oh? And here I thought only Alphys could give you those?”

“…Why are you—! Oh! Th-that’s not what I—! I mean—! NGAH! Back me up Alphys!”

Alphys was sitting on the couch, covering her bright-red face with her hands. “This is it, this is where I die… they finally managed to kill me with embarrassment. Sprinkle my dust on Undyne’s armor, so I can keep her safe…”

Undyne could only sigh, “That robot of yours is a bad influence!”

Everyone started laughing. Alphys only managed weak chuckles.

  


* * *

  


Gaster would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous, receiving a summons form the Queen of Monsters was a rare occurrence. Receiving one that said ‘today’ was even more so. He stood at the Queen’s front door, his knuckles just a hair’s breadth away from the surface. Gaster took a deep breath and knocked.

A second later, Toriel opened the door, “Greetings, Dr. Gaster. Please, come in.”

Gaster obeyed. Toriel closed the door behind him and guided him to the dining room. There were two cups of tea already laid out.

After the two were seated, Toriel spoke, “You know why I called you here, do you not?”

Gaster hesitated, he wasn’t sure why the queen had summoned him, but he knew it wasn’t good. “I do not. However, I would hazard a guess that it has something to do with Ambassador Angel?”

Toriel nodded, “Yes. I want the truth Dr. Gaster, what was the REAL reason you tried to kill them? I very much doubt that you would resort to violence so easily… You are not known for your temper, after all.”

Gaster remained silent.

Toriel sighed, “…It is because they reminded you of THEM, is it not?”

“…That is… part of it. However, I truly was angry. Angry and afraid. Angry at the humans for imprisoning us. Afraid that the human would hurt Sans and Papyrus. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment, and I cannot apologize enough for it.”

The two monsters remained silent for some time.

After a while Toriel spoke, “I understand, and while Angel has forgiven you for your… **out-burst** …” Gaster winced, “I have not. That being said, I know you, Dr. Gaster. I know you will not rest until you have made amends. You are not the sort of person to leave a debt unpaid. I will continue to put my faith in you, despite my personal feelings. But make no mistake, while I will set aside my disgust, my distrust… I do this not for you, but for both of my children. They trust you, despite everything… Do NOT abuse their trust. Understood?”

Gaster bowed his head, “Yes, your Majesty. Thank you. I swear you will not regret this.”

“…Good. Now, let us discuss the real reason why I called you here.”

Now Gaster was completely lost, how was all of THAT not the ‘real reason?’

Toriel sipped her tea before continuing, “I have tried to uncover more details about Angel’s past. However, my attempts to gather information have been for naught. Angel refuses to discuss the matter, Sans has been un-characteristically unhelpful, and I sense that Asriel knows something, but he insists that he knows nothing at all. I am at a loss.”

Gaster took a sip of his tea. It was golden flower tea. It wasn’t Gaster’s favorite by any means, but it wasn’t bad either. “Pardon me for questioning you, but why are you so adamant about this? I would have guessed that you would respect Angel’s wishes and not press the matter. Unless… something has happened?”

“Indeed. You must not tell anyone about this, but… Angel has scars on their back. Ritual scars.”

Gaster nearly dropped his tea, “Ritual scars!? On a child!? What kind of creature would—?”

“We don’t know. Alphys was the one who performed the examination, she reported the scars to me. According to her, Angel claims the scars were… self-inflicted.”

Gaster took a moment to try and rationalize that statement, “I do not believe humans are that flexible…”

“Precisely. That is why I believe someone else has done this to them. Someone they refuse to talk about…”

Gaster stared into his teacup. The thought in his head made him feel ill, so he set the teacup down. “…You suspect their parents.”

“Indeed.”

“…What are your orders, my Queen?”

“I want you to find any information you can about ritual scars. I know it is not a pleasant subject; however, I cannot commit myself to this. If I did, angel would surely find out, and I do not wish to upset them. They still believe that Alphys has kept the scars a secret, after all.”

Gaster nodded, “Very well. If I find anything, I will let you know. Do you… know what ritual the marks are a part of?”

Toriel stood up and walked around the table. She leaned forward and whispered into Gaster’s ‘ear.’

“…”

Gaster’s eyesockets went wide.

“Tell no one of this, not even Sans.”

Gaster let out a shaky breath, “…My Queen? If we find the people who did this… I cannot promise I will show mercy…”

Toriel sighed, “That makes two of us.”

  


* * *

  


Angel, Asriel, Alphys and Undyne would often refer to themselves as the ‘Anime Squad.’ This was because they would usually hang out at once every two weeks and binge-watch an entire season of a different anime.

Since plans changed last minute, everyone agreed to just pick something from Netflix’s Anime Section.

The Anime Squad ended up watching ‘Black Butler.’

Angel had watched the entire series in a previous timeline, but Asriel had not, so it was a good opportunity to share it with him.

After watching the entire first season, it was time for the Squad to share their opinions.

Undyne went first, “Damn! Can you BELIEVE that kid? I mean sure, I’d never forgive someone who killed my parents, but… to sell your SOUL for the sake of revenge? I think that’s a bit much…”

Alphys spoke next, “Y-yeah, but! The p-people responsible were b-bad! You saw what they did, they had to b-be stopped!

Asriel nodded his head, “Yeah, I hate to admit it… But, they were evil… I just wish… That Ciel… You know…”

Alphys sighed, “Yeah… But, I thought it was also… um, k-kinda cute? You know, how Sebastian and Ciel c-cared… about each other?”

Undyne laughed, “I didn’t know you were a yaoi fan!”

Alphys blushed and hastily stammered, “N-No! I-it’s not l-like that!” This only prompted Undyne to laugh more.

After everyone calmed down, “You’ve been kinda quiet, punk.” Undyne said, “What’s up?”

Angel shrugged, “I was just waiting my turn, that’s all.”

“Well it’s your turn now! Go for it! Fuhuhu!”

Angel reached over and tried to pet Asriel’s head. Asriel responded by leaning away from Angel’s hand so they couldn’t reach him. “Not this time!” Asriel said triumphantly.

Angel shrugged, “I can understand why Ciel did what he did. He had everything taken from him: his home, his parents, his freedom… his dignity. When someone loses everything they care about… what remains but hatred and despair? If I had to choose, I’d rather give into hatred. If you give in to despair, then your enemies win. But if you hold onto hatred… at least you can keep fighting. At least you can make your enemies suffer for what they have done. And if you rid the world of evil people… that’s just a bonus.”

Everyone was silent for several seconds. “Damn…” Undyne said, “You convinced me, punk! I think Ciel did the right thing. Anything is better than giving up!”

“Y-yeah…” Alphys added, “But, um… the way you said that… It sounded l-like you were… speaking from experience?”

Angel shrugged again, “Forgiveness is a privilege few are worthy of, and even fewer enjoy.”

  


* * *

  


Ericson sat in his office. Countless different scenarios were playing out in his head. He didn’t know what he was getting into, but he knew he had to act. He had to know…

Colson entered the room, “Right this way…” he said, as he guided two people into the room.

Ericson stood and motioned to the chairs in front of his desk, “Please, have a seat.”

The two visitors sat down. Ericson sat down as well. Colson remained standing, off to Ericson’s right, as he always did.

‘It’s now or never.’ Ericson thought to himself.

“I am President Henry Ericson. I thank you for coming here today. I hope—”

“We know who you are.” The woman interrupted, “We came here for one reason and one reason only.”

The woman leaned in, her glare was both angry and concerned.

“Where is our daughter?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Former Family
> 
> Author: Realizes they mentioned an Anime that was based-off a Manga.  
> Also Author: “Welp, now I’m going to get flooded with a million, ‘The Manga was Better!’ comments. RIP me, I guess."


	11. Former Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion is had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Rampant semi-accidental deadnaming and semi-accidental misgendering.

It was a beautiful day outside.

A veritable sea of lush, green grass stretched out in every direction, occasionally there would be a patch of golden flowers seen amid the endless green.

But Rebecca Robinson was too lost in her own thoughts to really notice, and her husband, Michael Robinson, was too busy driving too pay much attention either.

The couple were on their way to Ebott City, the city of monsters. They were using directions given to them by their GPS.

While Michael drove, Rebecca kept trying to make sense of everything.

Her daughter was alive. Angelica had disappeared over seven months ago, and Rebecca was about to lose hope… Until, one day, she received a call from the President himself! Rebecca thought it was a prank at first, but it soon became clear that wasn’t the case.

President Ericson told her that he may have found her daughter, but he needed to confirm with her, and her husband, in person.

That was when things stopped making sense…

  


* * *

  


_“We know who you are.” Rebecca interrupted, “We came here for one reason and one reason only.” She leaned in, her glare was both angry and concerned. “Where is our daughter?”_

__

_“I will tell you, but I need you to listen to the whole story first.” Ericson said, “Rest assured that if the child IS Angelica Robinson, then she is perfectly safe. We will however, need to verify some things…”_

_Rebecca tried to keep her mounting annoyance from showing in her voice, “Such as…?”_

_Ericson pulled a small photograph from a folder on his desk, “Can you confirm if this is Angelica Robinson, your daughter?”_

_Rebecca looked at the photo. There was no denying it, this was her missing daughter. After all this time, she knew Angelica was safe. She felt as though a weight had been lifted, but…_

_Rebecca could not place her finger on it, but something was wrong with this photo… Michael noticed too, but he had no better luck trying to place it._

_After nearly a full minute, Rebecca remembered where she was, “…Where… Where is she?”_

_“…We will tell you. However, this may very well become a political issue, so please bear in mind—”_

_“How can our DAUGHTER be a political issue!?” Rebecca interrupted and stood up, “You have her picture, you know where she is! Why won’t you tell us!?”_

_Ericson said nothing; he merely motioned for her to sit down again. Or maybe he was asking her to lower her voice. Michael grabbed onto his wife’s hand. She looked down at him and saw the pleading look in his eyes. He was just as worried as she was, but shouting would not help matters._

_Rebecca sat down, but continued to glare at Ericson. Ericson ignored her and continued, “Please bear in mind, that if we could simply return Angelica to you, we would. This is NOT the 2019 Mexican-border incident. Keeping children from their parents is not our goal. However, Angelica is not in our custody. Furthermore, the child in question has pointedly refused to offer any information regarding their parents. As a result, we have spent the last six months attempting to find them, to find you.”_

_“Hold up.” Michael said, “What do you mean, ‘attempting to find you?’ We haven’t exactly been hiding this whole time.”_

_Ericson nodded, “True. But, we had no idea WHO Angel’s parents were. That made finding you next to impossible.”_

_“…Angel? Why are YOU calling her that?” Rebecca asked._

_“Because that is the name we were given.” Ericson noted, “They have only ever offered the name ‘Angel.’ Furthermore, they claim to have no last name. Obviously, this is untrue. But, there was nothing we could do about it.”_

_“Why didn’t you just ask her?” Michael asked._

_“We did. Angel refused to discuss the matter, and attempting to press the matter could have ended very poorly.”_

_“…So where IS she?” Rebecca’s patience was nearly at its limit._

_“Angel currently resides in a recently-built, two-story house with their… unofficial, adoptive family, the Dreemurrs.”_

_The room was silent. It was so silent that you could hear the ticking of a clock two rooms over._

_After nearly a minute of silence, Michael spoke, “Is she safe?”_

_Ericson nodded, “Perfectly so. In fact, last week we spoke about… well, the political aspects of our conversation are secret. National security, you understand. However, your child seems to be in perfect health.”_

_“…’Seems to be?’”_

_“I’m not a doctor… But, if the child in question WAS in some kind of danger. I am certain I would have noticed something by now. We tend to speak with one another every other week, after all.”_

_Rebecca found her voice, “Who are these, ‘Dreemurrs?’ Why do they have our daughter?”_

_“We have absolutely no idea. The parents, a married couple, seem to care about Angel a great deal. I… had a son, once… Trust me when I say that Asgore Dreemurr genuinely cares for Angel. There are some things a father cannot fake. I believe the same is true for Toriel Dreemurr. All accounts point to Angel being the one behind all of this…”_

_“…What?” Both Michael and Rebecca said in unison._

_Ericson frowned, “There is no easy way to say this… But, Angel has a cell phone, we know it works with human cellular technology. We have already ruled out amnesia as well. Furthermore, Toriel herself has personally asked me if I knew Angel’s parents. This implies that neither she, nor her husband, Asgore, know of you. This means that Angel must be keeping your existence a secret from them, not to mention from the rest of us.”_

_Rebecca started to nod, but stopped when she realized something, “Wait, why did you say **human** cellular technology?”_

__

_“Because the Dreemurrs are monsters. The royal monster family, in fact. This is why things are so complicated… As far as the monsters are concerned, Angel is royalty.”_

  


* * *

  


Angel was having a good day. They popped a piece of their chocolate bar into their mouth, and continued with their devious, prank-related scheming. They were currently debating whether they should get some ketchup, or simply use a glamour spell instead. The current target of their unnecessarily-complex prank was Asriel, and Angel couldn’t be lax when pranking their brother. Asriel remembered all the other timelines, and new ALMOST all of Angel’s tricks.

So Angel had to be especially careful with their plotting.

Angel continued to stare at the living room ceiling, savoring the taste of chocolate and mentally remarking about how incredibly soft the couch was. The couch had nothing on the Dreemurrs, however. The softness of a Boss Monster’s fur was unmatched, at least in Angel’s mind.

Suddenly, Angel felt it… felt them.

During their many, many RESETs, Angel learned the name of their mysterious ability. SOUL-Sight, the ability to see the world through one’s very SOUL.

This was the ability that allowed Angel to ‘see’ the world even when their eyes were closed. It also allowed Angel to sense the presence of other SOULs. Angel could track down familiar SOULs over an incredible distance, assuming they focused. They could also create tracking spells and imbue items with these spells. They imbued both Asriel’s and their lockets with such a spell, along with a few other enchantments.

SOUL-Sight made it virtually impossible for Angel to be caught off-guard. Even so, they were not ready for what was about to happen.

They never were.

It didn’t always happen at the same time, or even in the same way… But it ALWAYS happened…

They were coming.

Angel quickly stuffed the rest of their chocolate into their mouth and brought a hand to their locket.

Angel thought of Asriel and gently pushed their thoughts forward, _’Asriel, they’re coming again.’_

A few seconds later, they heard Asriel’s voice echo in their mind, _’…Okay.’_

Angel sighed. Asriel knew what needed to be done; now they just needed to alert the others. It was time for ‘Operation: Quick Tour.’ Of course, only Angel and Asriel would know of the plan. But Angel knew how to get the others on-board without filling them in.

They felt a little a bad about manipulating their friends like this, but there was no other way.

Well, Asriel felt bad about it, Angel stopped caring about that 150 RESETs ago.

But even so… Operation: Quick Tour was not something Angel looked forward to…

Angel sent the necessary texts to the others and went upstairs. Angel had about 30 minutes before they arrived, and Angel needed to get ready themself.

  


* * *

  


The Robinsons’ weren’t sure what to expect when they reached Ebott City, but near-total normalcy was not it. If it weren’t for all the monsters walking around, anyone could be forgiven for thinking this was just another city. The buildings looked normal, the lawns looked normal, even the monsters looked normal— or, at least their clothes did.

This would take some getting used to.

The Robinsons’ didn’t know much about monsters, only that they seemed nice enough. Seeing Ebott City really did help put things into perspective, however.

Sadly, they did not have time for sightseeing.

Thanks to President Ericson, the human couple knew where they needed to go. They had no problem finding the Dreemurr residence. Well, aside from being stopped at the border and asked to fill out some paperwork. However, that only took a few minutes.

Michael parked the car along the curb in front of the house. It was a nice house, he noted to himself. “Are you ready?” He asked his wife.

Rebecca simply nodded once and climbed out of the car.

They walked up to the door and rang to doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened and a large goat-looking monster stood before them. “Greetings. I am Toriel, may I help you?”

This goat-woman was TALL. Michael was of fairly average height, but his woman was a full head taller than he was.

Rebecca, who was slightly shorter than Michael, was not so impressed. “Is this the Dreemurr residence?” she asked.

Toriel nodded, “Yes, this is the Dreemurr residence. Do you need to speak with Asgore?”

Rebecca shook her head, “No. We are here for Angelica, our daughter.”

Toriel looked confused, “I am sorry, there is no one here by that name. However, I am more than happy to help you look for your daughter. Or I could contact the Royal Guard and ask them to assist you, instead.”

Rebecca studied Toriel. After a few moments she realized that Toriel wasn’t playing dumb, or making subtle threats. She genuinely didn’t know…

President Ericson may have been right after all… But that would mean…

Rebecca cleared her throat and tried again, “Ah, I’m sorry. Angelica is her first name, but her nickname is Angel.”

Toriel covered her mouth with her hands. The look in her eyes was one of surprise and shock. A second later, that look was replaced by obvious mistrust.

“…I see.” Toriel said after a palpable pause, “Please, come inside, will you not.”

That was definitely NOT a question.

Toriel stepped aside, and Michael and Rebecca entered the house. Toriel closed the door behind them. “Please, this way. I believe we have much to discuss…”

Toriel guided them to the living room. The Robinsons’ sat down on the couch and Toriel sat down in one of the two large recliners.

Rebecca was the first to speak, “We know our daughter is here. We want to see her.”

Toriel nodded, her expression gave nothing away. Though it was clear she did not trust these people.

After all, they were the most likely culprits behind Angel’s ritual scars.

Toriel was about to ask them about it when Asriel came bounding down the stairs. “Hi, mom! Who are these people?”

Asriel knew full well who these people were, but he had to stop Toriel from mentioning the scars. Otherwise, the resulting confusion would ruin the plan.

Toriel closed her mouth, only for her to open it again with different words in mind, “Apologies, this is my son, Asriel. Asriel these people are… I am sorry, I forgot to ask for your names…”

Michael spoke up, “I’m Michael, and this is my wife Rebecca. We are Angel’s parents.”

Asriel winced, it wasn’t a fake wince either. “Oh…” he said, “I’ll, uh… let them know you’re here.” Asriel slowly made his way back up the stairs.

After Asriel was out of sight, Michael blurted-out, “…Did I say something wrong?”

Toriel shook her head, “No. but it is clear that Asriel is… Well, he and Angel are quite close… And I believe he knows why you are here.”

“Oh…” Michael felt bad for bringing it up.

Toriel racked her brain trying to find a way to discretely ask about Angel’s scars.

Sadly, Rebecca was (unknowingly) one step ahead, “I take it that you doubt we are Angel’s parents?”

Toriel nodded once, but said nothing.

“That’s fine.” Rebecca said, “Once Angelica is here, everything will be sorted out.”

“About that, why do you call them, Angelica?”

“Because that is her name?”

“…I see.”

Rebecca tried to keep her temper in check; she was partially successful. “What do you mean, ‘I see?’”

Toriel closed her eyes and sighed, “When Angel gets here… You should ask them about their pronouns…”

Rebecca’s anger gave way to confusion, “What? I don’t under—”

The adults heard footsteps steadily descending the stairs. Everyone held their breath as the footsteps rounded the corner, and…

Asriel appeared, “Angel is taking a shower, but they said they are almost done.”

Everyone exhaled in unison. Asriel raised an eyebrow but said nothing else.

“…Very well. How long will they take?” Toriel asked.

Asriel shrugged, “Five minutes? They don’t really care about their appearance, so they will probably be down here as soon as they’re dressed.”

“Angelica never did take care of her hair.” Michael said, “That’s why it’s almost always a mess.”

Asriel ignored the human and sat down in the other large chair. He made a show of getting comfortable.

Toriel sighed, she knew there was no way she could convince Asriel to leave. She would just have to wait for another opportunity to mention the scars.

If Angel reacted poorly to the sight of these humans, or if they were lying about being Angel’s parents…

Toriel bit her tongue, her children’s safety was her first priority.

Asriel clearly noticed the tense atmosphere, because he tried to defuse it, “Soooo… Do either of you know magic?”

The two humans looked at each other, confusion plain on their faces. “What, like magic tricks?” Michael asked, “Not really, but Angelica liked… likes books about magic and the occult. Why?”

Asriel barely managed to conceal his smirk, “So you don’t know ANYTHING about magic rituals?”

Toriel quickly caught on to what Asriel was doing, she focused all her attention on the humans. Their expressions, their body language, everything. If they hurt Angel, she WOULD find out!

“…No?”

Toriel continued studying the humans. Meanwhile, Asriel pressed further, “So you DIDN’T teach Angel magic?”

Michael slowly shook his head, while Rebecca spoke up, “What are you saying? If you are trying to distract us, it won’t work.”

Asriel’s smirk became slightly visible, “You do know about magic, right?”

Rebecca was about to say something snide, when Michael interrupted her. “Yes. We heard about it on the news. We also heard that humans can also use magic. But… we aren’t entirely sure we believe that…”

Asriel held out his hand and conjured a small fireball. “Well, you better start believing because it’s all true. Oh, and Angel can use magic too.”

“What!?” Rebecca practically yelled, “You taught our daughter magic!?”

“…So THAT’S why my ears are burning!” Angel stepped around the corner and entered the room. “For your information, I could use magic well before I went to the Netherworld.”

Everyone turned to Angel. Angel said nothing as they walked towards Asriel’s seat.

“Angel!” Asriel cried as he tackle-hugged his sibling. Angel let out an ‘Oof!’ as they struggled to stay upright.

The humans stared in disbelief. It really was their child, after all these months…

It was then that Rebecca noticed it…

Asriel had a smug grin on his face as he held Angel close. He looked right at the humans, his expression clear: ‘This is mine! You can’t have them!’

Rebecca began openly scowling at Asriel, who simply returned a triumphant grin.

Angel managed to pry Asriel off them and turned to look at the Robinsons.

“Greetings, it’s… been…”

Several seconds passed. Angel was at a complete loss for words.

Michael was the one who broke the silence, “Angelica? Is it really—”

Angel held up one finger, “Hold that thought.” They turned to Asriel, “What the hell, Az? You totally gave them that look again, didn’t you?”

Asriel giggled, “Sorry, couldn’t help it. I REALLY don’t like these people. They don’t deserve you. And! And, they misgender you. All. The. Time. And what the hell kinda name is ‘Angelica?’ Angel is WAY cooler!”

The adults were stunned into silence as the children quickly forgot they were even there.

Angel shook their head, “Ok, one: Apology accepted, but PLEASE get it right next time. Two: I get it; I’m not asking you to like them. Three: That is true, but the way you said that is a bit creepy. If you keep saying stuff like that, I WILL start calling you yandere-goat. Four: I really don’t care about the misgendering, it’s not like they are doing it on purpose. Doing it on purpose is what annoys me, and only a tiny bit at that. Five: I hate that name too, that is why I got rid of it. Six: Aww, I’m glad you think my name is cool.”

Angel hugged Asriel before giving him a light smack on the back of the head.

“Please don’t do that again. Okay, Azzy?”

“Fine…”

Angel released Asriel, “Okay! Back to my dramatic entrance.”

Rebecca started to speak, “Hold on! Just what is going on he—”

**File 5 Loaded**

“…So THAT’S why my ears are burning!” Angel stepped around the corner and entered the room. “FYI, I could use magic well before I went to the Netherworld.”

Everyone turned to Angel. Angel said nothing as they walked towards Asriel’s seat.

“Angel!” Asriel cried as he tackle-hugged his sibling. Angel let out an ‘Oof!’ as they struggled to stay upright.

The humans stared in disbelief. It really was their child, after all these months…

They had finally found her.

Angel managed to pry Asriel off them and turned to look at the Robinsons.

“Greetings, it has been awhile, has it not?”

Michael managed to find his voice first, “Angelica? Is it really you?”

Angel sighed, “I go by ‘Angel’ now. But, yes, it is me.”

This was the moment that Angel was dreading.

This moment, happening right here, right now.

No matter how many times this scene played out.

Angel would never be ready…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Operation: Quick Tour
> 
> In case anyone is curious: No, Asriel is not a yandere. However, classic Flowey IS canonically a small part of AngelTale Asriel’s personality. If AT Asriel suffered the same fate, he would behave the same way.  
> And yes, Flowey has some yandere-esqe traits. He is obsessed with Chara, completely disinterested in everyone else, and is VERY homicidal. Kind of makes you wonder about Asriel and Chara’s relationship, doesn’t it?


	12. Operation: Quick Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Semi-accidental deadnaming and semi-accidental misgendering.

Rebecca could hardly believe her eyes. Her child was right there. After all this time, she had found her little Angel. “My little girl… If this is dream, don’t wake me.”

Rebecca hugged Angel.

_Nothing._

After nearly a whole minute, Michael cleared his throat.

Rebecca suddenly remembered that Angel did not like physical contact and released them. “I’m sorry, I’m just… I thought, we thought…”

“I understand.” said Angel, “Please, have a seat. We need to talk.”

“Of course! A lot has happened in 6 months.” Rebecca said as she sat down and patted the empty spot on the couch between her and her husband.

Angel ignored her invitation and instead sat on second recliner. Asriel plopped himself down right next to them, he even started resting his head on their shoulder.

Rebecca was about to mention Angel’s aversion to physical contact when Angel started petting Asriel’s head. Since neither child seemed to mind, Rebecca decided to remain silent on the matter.

Seeing Angel choose to sit with the monster child over her… Rebecca was not going to lie to herself, it stung.

“A-anyways,” Rebecca stammered, “Why did you run away like that? We were worried sick!”

“I must confess that I am curious as well.” Toriel added, “Why did you leave your surface home? And why have you neglected to mention your human parents?”

Angel really didn’t want to say it. In fact, they couldn’t say it, not without ruining EVERYTHING.

Angel sighed, “I promise I’ll tell you everything. But first, there are some things I need to take care of. In fact, Michael, Rebecca, would you like to join me? I believe it would be beneficial if you were to meet some of my friends.”

Rebecca barely managed to avoid blurting-out her thoughts, ‘Friends? Angel made friends?’ Instead, she said, “Yes, I… yeah, I would like to meet them.”

Toriel was about to protest, when Asriel spoke up, “Don’t worry, mom. We will be right back, promise!”

Toriel sighed, “I suppose answers can wait a little longer. However…” Toriel looked straight at Rebecca, “Please keep an eye on them, and bring them back before dark.”

Rebecca nodded, “Of course.” She turned to Angel, “Okay. Let’s go meet these friends of yours!”

  


* * *

  


_10 minutes of walking later._

Angel, Asriel and the Robinson’s stood in front of a modest-looking, two-story home.

“My second-best-friend lives here.” Angel said.

“Mine too!” Said Asriel.

“I’m guessing it’s not the same person, then?” Asked Michael, it was more of a confirmation, rather than a question.

Angel walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A faint ‘Click’ sound came from the door. Angel opened it walked inside. Asriel followed. The human couple hesitated for a moment before following.

It was dark inside, Rebecca fumbled for the light switch, but couldn’t find it.

Suddenly, they all sensed a presence.

“Human. Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”

Michael, who was closest to the mysterious voice, did as he was told. He turned and shook the offered hand.

All at once, two things happened: The lights turned on, and the sound of flatulence emanated from the short skeleton.

Michael tried and failed to keep himself from chuckling.

“heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s always funny.”

Angel gestured to Sans, “Everyone, this is Sans. My second-best-friend.”

Sans pretended to be hurt, “aww… when did i get a demotion?” This earned a chuckle from Angel.

“SANS! WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY DO I HEAR CHUCKLING?” Papyrus said as he came out of his room. “OH! GREETINGS, HUMANS! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I SEE YOU HAVE ALREADY MET MY BROTHER! OH, AND IT SEEMS YOU KNOW THE PRINCES AS WELL!” Papyrus walked down the stairs and stage-whispered to the children, “ARE THESE HUMANS FRIENDS OF YOURS?”

Asriel nodded, “Yup, they are Angel’s bio parents, Michael and Rebecca Robinson.” Asriel gestured to each human.

“I SEE! YOU TWO MUST BE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL MAGES IF AMBASSADOR ANGEL IS YOUR CHILD!”

“nah, bro. they aren’t mages.”

“OH. I APOLOGIZE, HUMANS! I MEANT NO DISRESPECT!”

Rebecca struggled to cope with Papyrus’ apparent lack of volume-control. “It’s, it’s alright. We aren’t offended.”

Asriel gestured to Papyrus, “This is Papyrus, he’s my second-best-friend.”

“GASP! I HAD NO IDEA! I AM DEEPLY HONORED, MINI-ASGORE! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Asriel sighed. One day, one day Papyrus would call him by his real name.

“Here you go, Sans.” Angel reached into their jacket and pulled out a small envelope, “I need you to deliver this to Dr. Gaster for me.”

Sans winked at them, “sure thing, kiddo. is this official ‘bassador business?”

Angel shook their head, “No, it’s just a formula that Dr. G will likely find useful. You might find it useful too, now that I think about it.”

“‘k, i’m meeting with g later, so i’ll give it to him then.”

“IN THE MEANTIME, IT IS ALMOST LUNCHTIME! WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US? I MAKING MY FAMOUS LUNCHTIME SPAGHETTI!”

Both Angel and Asriel made a face. “No thanks!” Angel said quickly, “We still have to show these two around. Maybe next time!”

“Wait, how do skeletons eat spaghetti?” Michael asked.

“how? eh, just…”

“SANS, NO.”

“… _fork_ -get about it.”

Both of the Robinsons started quietly chortling. Papyrus was less impressed. “OH NO! MORE HUMANS HAVE SUCCUMBED TO SANS’ TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR!”

This only caused the two humans to laugh more openly.

“what can i say, bro? my sense of humor is, _sans_ -sational.”

Papyrus let out an angry ‘NYEH’ and stomped his foot. “SANS! STOP TORTURING THE HUMANS WITH YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS!”

Angel smirked, “I don’t know, Paps. That last one…”

“PLEASE, HUMAN!”

“…was a real _rib_ -tickler!”

Both Papyrus and Asriel let out a dejected sigh while the Robinsons continued laughing.

This pattern continued for about 20 minutes.

And yet, despite the laughter…

_Nothing._

  


* * *

  


_Later, in front of Undyne and Alphys’ house._

Angel knocked on the front door.

“Who is it?” came Undyne’s somewhat muffled voice.

“The pun patrol!” Angel half-shouted, “We are here to inform you that you and your girlfriend are a- _door_ -able!”

Laughter could easily be heard coming from inside. “Okay, you got me! Come in, punk!” Undyne opened the door and let the two children and the two adults enter.

Undyne showed them to the living room.

Alphys was already seated on one of the floor mats. She was trying, and failing to keep calm. Angel had texted her and told her that them and their brother would be stopping-by. Not only that, the two of them would be bringing Angel’s bio parents along.

Alphys easily suppressed her urge to post this development on her Undernet account. After all, she knew that Angel’s bio parents wanted…

She knew what was most likely going to happen.

She also knew the REAL reason Angel brought them here. Angel was counting on her! She was under so much pressure! But she refused to let her friend down! She would tough this out, no matter what!

Undyne sat on the floor mat beside Alphys, “You okay, babe?”

Alphys nodded furiously. She had this! She HAD this! Totally!

Angel and Asriel joined them.

Rebecca glanced at the two remaining floor mats. “I see you must like Asian culture. Or are some monsters Asian? I’m sorry, that was rude, wasn’t it?” The Robinsons quickly sat down.

“Not at all!” Undyne said, “Alphys and I just really like anime! Plus, I kinda destroyed the couch, again.”

“N-not that Undyne is violent or a-anything!” Alphys started, “She j-just, doesn’t know her own strength s-sometimes! Uh… I mean, my n-name is Alphys. Dr. Alphys, actually... And this is Undyne. Captain Undyne.”

“…I see.” Rebecca said, “I am Rebecca and this is my husband Michael. We are Angelica’s parents.”

“Who the hell is Angelica?” Undyne asked.

“Angel.” Michael said flatly.

“Oh. I probably should have guess tha— WAIT A SECOND!” Undyne leapt to her feet. “If you’re this punk’s bio parents… Then you must be seasoned warriors! RIGHT!? Spill it! I wanna know all about how you two trained such a fierce warrior!”

“W-warrior!?” Rebecca was having trouble processing Undyne’s statement, “Wh-what are you SAYING!? My little Angel is NOT a warrior!”

Undyne laughed, “Pfft! Yeah, right! And I’m the royal scientist! This kid was able to hold their own against ME! And I wasn’t even holding back! The punk is a bona-fide badass!”

“What do you mean? Did you attack my daughter!?”

Undyne froze and suddenly looked very nervous, “Uh…”

Angel sighed, “How very elegant, Undyne. Please sit down, while I run damage control.” Undyne did as she was told. “What Undyne MEANT to say, was that we spar with one another every so often. Undyne doesn’t hold back because she knows she doesn’t need to. She also knows that I would be offended if she DID, hold back I mean.”

“Y-yeah! That! Is what I meant! Yeah.”

Undyne’s poor recovery was not helping Alphys’ anxiety. Neither was the angry look the female human was giving them. Despite this, Alphys forced herself to speak, “Um, y-yeah. Angel is really, really st-strong. They know a l-lot about m-magic t-too! You… Uh, I’m sure you two are s-so p-proud!”

Rebecca was about to take Angel and leave, when Michael spoke, “What exactly do you mean by ‘strong?’”

Undyne was about to respond, when Angel cut her off, “They mean I am strong. Powerful. I am a mage. More precisely, a Sorcerer, the most powerful class of human mage.”

Rebecca was growing increasingly concerned. “Um, is this some kind of role-play thing? Or…?”

Angel stared at the Robinsons.

_Nothing._

Angel sighed, “Just… follow me.”

Angel stood up and walked towards the backdoor. Everyone else followed them.

Once outside, Angel looked around. After making sure no one would get hurt, they began their demonstration.

A ring of fireballs appeared around Angel, followed by another ring. The two rings began spinning around them, all the while rotating up and down, never touching Angel nor the ground.

Angel raised their left hand toward the sky and snapped their fingers. The fireballs shot up into the air. After several seconds, they were no longer visible from the ground.

Rebecca opened her mouth to say something, but Angel lowered their raised arm and raised one finger in the universal, ‘one moment, please’ sign.

Angle raised their left hand again and snapped their fingers once more.

A massive explosion erupted in the sky.

Or at least, that’s what it looked like.

In actuality, Angel had cast a projected glamour spell onto the Robinsons. With this, Angel created an illusion that only the Robinson’s could see. While Angel was strong enough to create that kind of explosion, doing so inside the city-limits was illegal.

Illusion or not, it got Angel’s point across. Both humans stood slack-jawed at the display of magical power.

“Let’s go back inside, shall we?” Angel walked back inside without waiting for a response.

Undyne stared blankly as the small human walked by, “Uh, what did you show—” Alphys loudly cleared her throat and shook her head. Undyne got the message.

Everyone followed Angel inside and sat down once again.

Michael was the first to recover, “Explain, please.”

Angel shrugged, “I told you: I learned magic before I fell into the Netherworld.”

“How?”

Angel shrugged, “From a book. That’s how I learn most things.”

Rebecca started shaking her head, “I… I need a minute.” Rebecca walked out the front door. Michael decided to follow her.

Angel and Asriel exchanged a look and nodded.

Asriel stood up, “Undyne, I think we should go check on them.”

“What? Why?”

“Just trust me. They need answers, and I don’t think Angel is the one who should give them.”

“…I, guess? I hope you know what you’re doing Princey.”

Undyne and Asriel left, leaving Alphys and Angel alone.

“Um, I-I have to ask.” Alphys began, “Y-your scars… d-did you mean what you said? That y-you did it your s-self?”

Angel nodded, “Yes. Also, I am well aware that you told Toriel about my scars. Don’t worry, I’m not upset. But, these scars are NOT what you think they are, honest. I’ll tell you about them one day, if you want. But we have bigger things to worry about right now…”

“Y-yeah… um, are they… the Robinsons, are they going t-to…?”

“Not if I can help it.” Angel said flatly.

  


* * *

  


_Half-an-hour, and one watered-down magic explanation later._

The Robinsons and the children were sipping tea in the dining room of the Dreemurr’s house, telling Toriel the short version of their little tour.

“My, it sounds like you two had fun today.” Toriel said. The two children nodded and Toriel continued, “I am glad… Unfortunately, I believe we still have something to discuss. Such as why you ran away from you surface home.”

Rebecca reached out and gently put her hand on Angel’s shoulder.

_Nothing._

Rebecca’s voice was filled with worry, “Angel… Why did you run away? Did something happen?”

_Nothing._

“Please kiddo, we just want to know that you’re okay.” Michael added.

_Nothing._

“Angel… I think we should tell them…”

Everyone turned towards Asriel.

“My son, do you know Angel’s reason?” Toriel asked.

Asriel nodded slowly, “Yeah, but… It’s not my place to say… Sorry.”

“Asriel…” Everyone returned their attention to the small human. Angel took a deep breath, “I left because… I… I wanted to destroy the Grand Barrier. I wanted to set monsters free. I cannot stand the idea of people, human or monster, being entrapped for no good reason. That is why I left… There is no other reason.”

Asriel averted his eyes. He knew angel was lying, but he said nothing. Despite this, Angel could see the disappointment in their brother’s eyes.

_Regret._

“…Well, I’m proud of you Angel!” Rebecca said, “You helped a lot of people, and that is the hallmark of a good person: Helping others.”

_Nothing._

“We are ALL proud of you.” Michael added.

_Nothing._

The two humans continued to reassure their child.

_Nothing._

They both hugged Angel.

_Nothing._

…

This is why Angel was never ready, this was why Angel dreaded the Robinsons finding them…

Despite everything… Angel still felt _nothing_.

Angel felt nothing for these humans, the people who did their absolute best for them. The people who cared for them, raised them. Angel felt nothing for them, no love, no affection, nothing whatsoever.

And it hurt.

It hurt Angel. That despite learning to love again, learning to care again, they still couldn’t care less about these two humans.

One day, they would tell them the truth. That Angel had grown bored with their life on the surface. That they had grown bored with simply accumulating power, accumulating LOVE. That, in their unending boredom, they sought to end their life the only way they knew how, through the destruction of the Grand Barrier.

One day, they would show everyone just how broken they truly were.

But that day was not today.

Angel was struggling to keep from breaking down right then and there. Asriel and Toriel noticed their distress, and made their way around the table towards Angel.

They both hugged the small child.

This small act made all the difference. It reminded Angel of what they were fighting for.

The thought of protecting their friends… Filled them with DETERMINATION.

This display of affection gave the Robinsons pause. They fully intended to take Angel with them when they left; they wanted their child to return with them, to live with them.

It was then that the Robinsons saw it, amid the white fur and obvious affection.

A sight that caused everything to finally click.

The photo Ericson showed them, Michael and Rebecca both knew what was ‘off’ with it.

It was a smile. Angel was smiling.

Angel NEVER smiled, even when laughing they never truly smiled. Ever since the day they were born, they never smiled, not even as a baby.

And yet, here they were, wrapped in warm, fuzzy hugs. And they were smiling.

The Robinsons shared a look, they knew… This was where Angel belonged, this was where they could be happy.

And that was the single most important thing.

Rebecca cleared her throat, “Well, uh… Why don’t you two go play. Michael and I need to discuss something with Mrs. Dreemurr.”

Angel was released from the hug and nodded once. The two children made their way upstairs. Angel subtly left one of their ‘spy serpent’ constructs to listen-in on the adults. None of them noticed.

Now alone the three humans began to speak a bit more candidly, “If you wish to take Angel away, then I am afraid you must clarify it with them first. I will set aside my personal feelings, and abide by Angel’s decision. Regardless of what that decision is.”

Rebecca shook her head, “There’s no need. We all know… she… they, have already made her… their, choice. They want to stay here, and I, we… We want Angel to come with us… But even more than that, we what our child to be happy. They are happy here, we can’t… we WON’T take that away from them.”

Michael put his arm around his wife, she leaned into him. “Take care of them.” He said, “And tell them, we’re sorry, that we couldn’t make them happy.”

  


* * *

  


_Meanwhile… Upstairs, in Angel and Asriel’s room._

Angel was listening in on the conversation downstairs, Angel’s spy serpents were perhaps their greatest, non-aggressive magical creation: silent, practically invisible, and they could transmit audio-visual data straight to Angel, or to a compatible magical device.

“They have conceded, brother.” Angel said, “You can rest easy now.”

Asriel huffed, “I, I wasn’t scared! If they tried to take you away, we wouldn’t have let them.”

“True, but if this turned into legal custody battle, it would have set us back several weeks, and we do NOT have that kind of time!”

Asriel frowned, “Didn’t you account for that though? Like, um… you said we had a one-month pad, in case something went wrong?”

Angel nodded, “Yes, but there is no point in throwing away this pad, especially when we may need it later. If we run out of time, if we fail to meet the correct milestones BEFORE we reach the appropriate deadlines…”

“You will have to RESET again…”

“Indeed.”

Asriel clenched and unclenched his fists, “…I don’t like it when you RESET.”

“The only alternative would be to let the world end.”

“…I know, that’s why…” Asriel gave Angel his most determined look. “We WILL win! No matter what!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Twisted Mercy
> 
> My beta-reader suggested starting a Patreon for this story. I told them that idea was crazy. Now I want to do it just for a goof, but I’m far too lazy for that.  
> *Sans shows up and hive-fives the author.*
> 
> Also... Happy New Year!


	13. Twisted Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel asks Angel for help. Papyrus tries to cheer up Asriel. Alphys, Sans and Gaster exchange notes.

_”Angel, can I, um, can I ask you something?”_

_“…You just did.”_

_“Angel! This, this is serious!”_

_“Sorry, sorry… What can I help you with, brother?”_

_“I… I want you to teach me something…”_

_“Sure, what?”_

_“I want to learn how to fight like you do.”_

_“… **No.** ”_

_“Wh—why not!?”_

_“Asriel… I will tell you this, and tell you alone… The way I fight, it is not how anyone should fight… certainly not a monster, certainly not YOU.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“…I channel my hatred, I detest the enemies before me, I let that hatred boil over… Then I unleash it. When I fight, I pour everything I have into making my enemy bleed, into making my enemy suffer. I don’t fight to KILL, I fight to make the other person SUFFER. My… ‘style’ is not for anyone else, let alone someone like you.”_

_“Like me?”_

_“Someone with seemingly endless compassion.”_

_“…I’m, I’m not THAT compassionate! …Am I?”_

_“Yes, and that is why I refuse to teach you. Go ask Asgore, I’m sure he would be happy too—”_

_“I tried, he said no. Undyne, Papyrus, Gaster… Everyone said I’m too young… But, they don’t know that we will soon be fighting for our lives! I… I won’t sit back and watch everyone I care about be turned to dust! I refuse to be helpless again! I… I… *sniff*”_

_“………Very well. I shall teach you.”_

_“*sniff* Thank you, Ang—”_

_“However! I cannot teach you how I fight, so instead, I will teach you… the basics. I hope you understand the irony of the situation…”_

_“Uh, what irony?”_

_“I am a remorseless killer, in case you forgot. I—”_

_“No! You are kind, and I won’t let you say such bad things about yourself!”_

_“*sigh* Fine. Conjure a weapon, and take a fighting stance.”_

_“…Like this?”_

_“…What the hell are you even doing?”_

_“Um, striking a battle pose?”_

_“You look like an idiot.”_

_“W-well then show me what I’m SUPPOSED to do!”_

_“I think it would be better if you learned from failure, rather than example. That’s how I learned to fight.”_

_“…What do you—”_

_“Attack me. Strike me like you mean to kill me.”_

_“What!? No!”_

_“Don’t worry, I’m basically immortal, remember? Heh, it’s not like you’re going to hit me anyways.”_

_“All right, fine! Have it your way! HYAAA!!!”_

__

_Asriel was eating dirt two seconds later._

  


* * *

  


Toriel had been studying the Robinsons almost the entire time they were there. She was concerned that these people were the ones who had hurt Angel. However, the more Toriel spoke with them, the more she came to realize… These two knew nothing about magic. Less than nothing, even.

There was no way in hell that these humans could carve ritual scars into anyone’s back. Let alone their own child.

That begs the question: ‘Then who did?’

Toriel was back to square one, but at least she knew that the Robinsons, Angel’s birth parents, were trustworthy.

After a lengthy discussion, Toriel was able to strike a deal with the Robinsons. They would be given nearly unlimited visitation rights and, assuming Angel was willing, would spend time with them at least once a month.

Toriel was still unsure how the two humans had failed to identify their child; Angel had been all over the news, after all. That being said, most news outlets had focused their coverage on monsters themselves, so Angel did not receive as much face-time as they could have.

Still, it was odd.

When everything was settled, Toriel stood up, “Thank you for being so understanding. We promise we will care for Angel for as long as they need.”

The Robinsons stood up as well. “We should be thanking you, Mrs. Dreemurr.” Said Rebecca, “In all this time, we have never seen Angel smile. If there is anything you need, call us, we will be happy to help in any way we can.”

“I shall. Oh, and you may call me, Toriel. We are practically family now, are we not?”

Toriel shook Rebecca’s hand, and then Michael’s.

“So soft…” Michael clapped his free hand over his mouth and started to apologize.

Toriel interrupted him by laughing quietly. “Angel said the same thing. At least now we know where they got that from.”

Despite Toriel’s reassurance, Michael rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Rebecca tried to cover for her husband, “We will return home, to New York City. Feel free to visit us if you want.”

And with that, the two humans excused themselves, got in their car, and started the long drive home.

  


* * *

  


Finally, those horrible humans were gone.

Asriel didn’t like them. Every time they showed up, they would try to take Angel away. Asriel didn’t want to lose Angel, he didn’t want to lose his best friend. Deep down, he knew nothing could drive them apart, but that didn’t mean he liked the idea of being alone again.

Before Angel fell, Asriel was alone. He had his parents, but no one else seemed to care about him. He had no friends, and what few people he did know, only saw him as ‘The Prince.’ No one saw him as Asriel, no one saw truly saw him.

It made him feel so alone.

Asriel was so alone, that on his tenth birthday he wished for a friend. He felt like a character from a tragic folk tale: A lonely person, asking any god that would listen, ‘may I please have a friend?’ Those stories always ended in tragedy.

Then his wish was granted. Angel fell and they became his first real friend. Asriel was so happy.

But he quickly found out that his new friend was… troubled.

Asriel did everything in his power to help Angel; he wanted them to smile, to be happy.

…Asriel still didn’t know if he was successful or not. Even so, he refused to give up! He would help them, no matter what!

That’s what friends were for, right?

But those humans, Asriel TRIED to like them, but he could never get over what they represented. The possibility that Angel would leave him one day, the possibility that Asriel would be all alone again…

The very thought made Asriel want to cry.

Asriel sensed a familiar flash of magic, he didn’t even bother turning around. “What is it, smiley-trashbag?”

Sans pretended to be shocked, “wow, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Asriel had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something inappropriate, instead he said, “What do you want? I’m not in the mood to suffer your puns right now.”

“and that, my fluffy friend, is why i’m here. paps said you needed cheering up, so… i decided to help out.”

“…You came to cheer me up?”

“me? nope, that’s way too much work. instead, i’m gonna bring ya to paps, then he can do the hard part.”

Sans snapped his fingers and whisked Asriel away to the skele-bros house. Sans was nowhere to be seen.

Asriel sighed, “Even when he’s helping, he does the bare minimum. I’m honestly impressed.”

“INDEED! JUST THINK WHAT MY BROTHER COULD DO IF HE APPLIED HIMSELF! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Asriel smiled despite himself. Papyrus was practically a walking anti-depressant; it was hard to be upset with him around.

“NOW THEN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY! FIRST, I UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FEEL! I KNOW THAT YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR SIBLING! I KNOW YOU ARE AFRAID THAT THE HUMANS MAY TAKE THEM AWAY! BUT! YOU CANNOT LOSE HEART! AS AMBASSADOR ANGEL WOULD SAY, ‘STAY DETERMINED!’”

“…I just, don’t want them to leave me alone. I can’t help but… worry about them…just leaving… and never coming back… I know it’s stupid, but…”

“IT IS NOT ‘STUPID!’ FOR THESE ARE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS! ONE DAY, ANGEL WILL NO LONGER BE THERE, THAT IS SIMPLY HOW LIFE WORKS. BUT! WORRYING NEEDLESSLY IS NOT WHAT AMBASSADOR ANGEL WOULD WANT! THEY WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO WORRY FOR THEM! THEY WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO MAKE YOURSELF UNHAPPY BY THINKING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE! INSTEAD, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT IS! AS IN, WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!”

“I… don’t understand.”

“IT IS SIMPLE! YOU MUST CHERISH EVERY MOMENT THAT YOU HAVE WITH THEM! TOMORROW CAN WAIT! SOMETIMES, YOU NEED TO TAKE A BREAK AND RELAX!”

“…Do YOU ever take breaks?”

“ALL THE TIME! AS GREAT AS I AM, EVEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEEDS TIME TO UNWIND! AS MUCH AS I TRY TO HIDE IT, BEING THIS GREAT TAKES CONSIDERABLE EFFORT! THEREFORE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU TAKE BREAKS! OTHERWISE, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE AS GREAT AS YOU COULD BE!”

“…That, is surprisingly sound advice. But I can’t just ignore my problems, I have to think about the future, or else… I just HAVE to!”

“I UNDERSTAND! I’M NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD COMPLETELY IGNORE THE FUTURE. THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLY SHORT-SIGHTED! EVEN SO, YOU CAN STILL STOP AND ENJOY YOURSELF, FROM TIME TO TIME. I’M SURE ANGEL WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU!”

“Angel and I spend almost every waking moment together, so…”

“THAT IS TRUE. BUT WHAT I MEANT WAS, MAYBE YOU TWO COULD SPEND TIME TOGETHER, WHEN YOU ARE _NOT_ TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD?”

“Pfft, you and me… both…”

Asriel stared at Papyrus, the gears in his head slowly turning.

“…Wait, how did— I mean, what a random thing to say, Papyrus! I don’t—”

“PLEASE, PRINCE ASRIEL. DO NOT TREAT ME LIKE I’M A FOOL. I KNOW YOU AND THE SMALL HUMAN HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SOMETHING. SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. REMEMBER, I AM THE MONSTER KINGDOM’S MASCOT! FURTHERMORE, I ASSIST AMBASSADOR ANGEL WITH SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS, BOTH FOR THEMSELF AS WELL AS EVERYONE ELSE. I WILL NOT TELL ANYONE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, I CAN TELL IT’S SENSITIVE WORK. BUT PLEASE, DON’T TREAT ME LIKE A BABYBONES.”

Asriel was stunned, not only did Papyrus figure out something was up…

But he also called Asriel by his name!

“Okay, you win. Sorry…”

“IT IS QUITE ALL RIGHT! WE ARE FRIENDS, AFTER ALL! AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE GREATEST OF FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Asriel couldn’t help but laugh alongside Papyrus. “Okay, thanks Papyrus. I needed that.”

“JUST A MOMENT! THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING! I WANTED TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. AND PLEASE, TELL ME THE TRUTH. DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT AMBASSADOR ANGEL’S SCARS?”

Asriel froze; it made sense for Papyrus to catch wind of Angel’s big plan. But there was no way Papyrus should know about Angel’s scars!

Asriel briefly considered lying to the tall skeleton, but…

“…Yes, I do.”

“…OKAY THEN! THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THE TRUTH! I WILL ASK SANS TO TAKE YOU HOME NOW!”

“…Huh? But, don’t you wanna know about, you know…?”

“OH, I DO! BUT! MORE THAN THAT, I WANTED TO KNOW IF THE SMALL HUMAN WAS IN ANY DANGER! I KNOW THAT AMBASSADOR ANGEL WOULD NEVER PUT YOU IN DANGER! SO, IF THEY WERE WILLING TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE SCARS… THEN THAT MEANS THE SCARS ARE COMPLETELY HARMLESS! BEHOLD! FLAWLESS LOGIC FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Asriel was at loss for words. Papyrus was far more observant than his rambunctious demeanor would indicate.

“OH, AND ABOUT WHAT I SAID EARLIER… JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO! SPEND TIME WITH YOUR SIBLING!”

Asriel chuckled to himself, “Yeah, don’t worry, I will! Thank you, Papyrus.”

Sans suddenly appeared and yawned, “welp, looks like the show’s over. see ya later, kiddo.”

Sans snapped his fingers and Asriel found himself back in his room.

Angel was there waiting for him, “Sans told me you wanted to speak with Papyrus about something. Is there something I can help you with?”

Asriel started to shake his head, but stopped, “Angel… would you be happier if you lived with the… Robinsons?”

“I would hate almost every second of it.”

“…Almost?”

“…The only part I wouldn’t hate, would be the part where you come to visit me.”

“R-really? Angel… you’re gonna, *sniff* you’re gonna make me cry again…”

Angel sighed, “You really are a crybaby, aren’t you?”

Despite Angel’s teasing, they were both smiling.

  


* * *

  


By the time Alphys had reached the Hotland Lab, she was completely out of breath. “…Wh-why… *pant* Why didn’t I take… Dimensional Physics III… *pant* in New Home University… teleportation would have been really useful!*pant*”

“dunno, maybe you thought it was… _out-of-bounds_?”

“…Sans, I hate you so much right now. If you were coming here, you could’ve just teleported me here as well! Instead, I had to run, like, three miles! And I was still almost late!”

“uh… the meeting isn’t for another 20 minutes…”

Alphys checked her watch, Sans was right. “I… *sigh* I give up. I’m gonna go pass out in the corner, wake me when Dr. G gets here.”

“There is no need for that, Dr. Alphys.” Dr. Gaster appeared with a flash of purple light. He handed Alphys a cup of Sea Tea. “Normally, I do not condone the consumption of beverages in the lab, but the healing properties will help.”

“ah, g, just the skeleton i wanted to see. got a message for ya, it’s from the kiddo. they say it’ll help.”

While Alphys hastily downed her tea, Gaster turned his attention to Sans. “How fortuitous, I planned to discuss the young human with Dr. Alphys. But since you are here, would you like to join us?”

Sans shrugged, “might as well. pretty sure the kid planned it like this, anyways.”

Alphys started sputtering and coughing. The two skeletons waited for her to recover. Once she did, she asked, “Um, wh-what did you want to talk about?”

Dr. Gaster gestured toward the elevator. The three monsters entered the elevator and rode it down.

While waiting, Gaster launched into an explanation, “During Dr. Alphys’ physical examination of Angel, she discovered that the human had what appeared to be ritual scars on their back. Dr. Alphys was unable to examine them too closely; however she was able to determine the most probable application of said scars.”

The elevator opened and the monsters made their way down the hall toward the Advanced Medical Center. All the while, Gaster continued his explanation, “We do not know for certain if these are, in fact, ritual scars. Furthermore, we do not know who is responsible for applying them. All we know is that Angel claims they were self-inflicted.”

They arrived at the AMC, once inside Gaster logged into one of the terminals and pulled up Angel’s medical report. “Judging from Dr. Alphys’ report, it seems unlikely that such precise scars could be self-inflicted, as a result, we believe that Angel’s birth parents may know more about—”

“nope”

“I concur with Sans, it wasn’t them.”

Dr. Gaster paused, “What leads you to that conclusion?”

Sans and Alphys shared a look. After a moment, Alphys spoke for them both, “We met them, Angel’s birth parents, I mean. Neither of them have any knowledge of magic. Furthermore, they did not know that Angel was a mage, let alone a Sorcerer.”

Gaster sighed, and rubbed the side of his skull with his hand, “Then it looks like we are out of leads. That was, quite literally, our only clue.”

“not exactly… see, while you were explaining things, i opened the kiddo’s letter. and, well, just read it yourself…”

Sans handed the letter to one of Gaster’s floating hands. The hand brought the letter to both of them.

The letter read: _‘Sans, I want you to read this letter then give it to Dr. Gaster and Dr. Alphys._

_I am well aware that the two of you are looking into the origins of the scars on my back. I shall tell you the truth, not because I want to, but because it is starting to become a significant annoyance to me. I know that you think the scars are magical in nature, and while they were inflicted with magic, I was the one responsible._

_The scars are the result of an experiment that went wrong. Simply put, I attempted to use a combination of Orange, Purple, Red, and Yellow magic to grow wings. As I am sure you can imagine, I failed, spectacularly, in fact._

_I do NOT want you to tell anyone of this! So please, drop it._

_Sincerely, Angel’_

Both scientists were at a loss for words.

“Huh.” Was all Gaster could say.

After a long pause, Alphys began muttering to herself, “Th-that DOES make sense… That combination of magic COULD be used for altering the human body, but without Green magic… the pain would be excruciating…”

Despite the quietness of her voice, both Sans and Gaster heard her clearly. “yup, that’s probably why the kiddo failed. still, it seems that humans have always been fascinated by the power of flight.”

Gaster decided to point out the obvious, “There are easier ways to fly, you know.”

“yup, but did the kiddo know? back then?”

Alphys breathed a sigh of relief, “…Good, good. At least w-we know Angel isn’t, well, y-you know.”

“Indeed.” Gaster added, “I suppose I should not have assumed the worst. After all who would put an Emotional Regulator on a child?”

“i always heard it called a ‘mental mitigater’ but yeah. feels like a weight off my skull.”

“‘Mitigater’ isn’t a word Sans.” Alphys suddenly looked less sure of herself, “Or is it? Wh-whatever! It’s over, m-mystery solved! Um, Dr. G… Could you…?”

“Teleport you back to the AG Rift Center in New Home? Certainly. Are you coming, Sans?”

“nah, i needed to grab somethin’ from snowdin. don’t worry, i’ll lock up before i leave. you two get some sleep. and i mean really sleep, i can see the bags under your eyesockets, g.”

Gaster made a show of rolling his eyelights. He teleported himself and Alphys away.

Sans stood there, staring at Angel’s medical report.

An Emotional Regulator, also known as an ‘Aggression Suppressor,’ was a set of ritual markings that were placed upon dangerous criminals when they were convicted. The practice was considered cruel, even before the war. Those under the effects of these markings were unable to harm others; however, they were also unable to defend themselves if attacked.

However, Red-SOUL humans were able to resist the effect, quite easily if Angel was to be believed.

…

Sans didn’t like lying to his friends, and the fact that he didn’t really lie was a cold comfort.

In truth, the markings upon Angel’s back represented a twisted form of mercy.

If Angel had fallen into the Netherworld without those marks…

Sans shook his head. No, he couldn’t afford to think about it like that.

Sans logged Gaster out of the terminal and shut it down.

Sans needed a drink. He went to the Overworld Gribbly’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: This Poor, Helpless Child (Not Really)
> 
> Just to clarify, I am NOT saying that Sans drinks alcoholic ketchup. However, if you wish to interpret it that way, go right ahead. I will leave it open to the reader’s interpretation.


	14. This Poor, Helpless Child (Not Really)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After striking a deal with their birth parents, Angel faces down an enemy most foul. Asriel hatches a devious plot.

_”Come on, Azzy. I didn’t hit you THAT hard.”_

_“Ugh… I think… Angel, I think you broke my stomach…”_

_“…First of all, you ‘break’ bones, you ‘rupture’ organs. Second, if the internet has taught me anything, it is that furries don’t have internal organs.”_

_“…What the… ow, what the heck is a furry?”_

_“Err… I’ll tell you later, much later. Do you need healing?”_

_“I… think I’ll live… maybe… How exactly did you get this strong?”_

_“Practice. That and, you know, the whole ‘Sorcerer’ thing.”_

_“…Oh. Sorry, I know you don’t like talking about it…”_

_“It’s fine, but you should know that Boss Monsters are basically the monster equivalent to Sorcerers.”_

_“Really? Then why can’t I even land a hit?”_

_“Again, practice. That and you plainly telegraph your attacks.”_

_“…Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”_

_“………What?”_

_“You know, to make it fair?”_

_“………Again, what? Actually, let’s try something. I want you to try again, WITHOUT telegraphing your attacks. Okay?”_

_“I… guess?”_

_“Okay, give me your best shot, Azzy!”_

_“I’m not sure about this… But, okay… HAH!”_

_“!!! Gah! Shit!”_

_“Angel! Oh, I’m so sorry! I—”_

_“…heheheh, heheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA!”_

_“…A-Angel…?”_

_“Wow! You actually managed to hit me! I cannot believe it!”_

_“Wh-why are you making that creepy face?”_

_“heheh, eh… Sorry, sorry, I’m proud of you Azzy. You have succeeded where professional soldiers have failed. You managed to make me bleed. I almost forgot what it felt like…”_

_“We, we should get you healed up. That looks deep; mom will know what to do. Here, let me help you.”_

__

_“I’m fine, I’ve suffered worse. Next time we train, I will not hold back. So you better be ready!”_

  


* * *

  


Angel stared daggers at the women before them. Never before had Angel been so thoroughly insulted, at least, in THIS timeline. “A curse upon thee, thy house, and all those who support thee.”

Diana simply rolled her eyes, “Maybe you should try speaking like someone from THIS century.”

“Why? Does ye olde English hurt your delicate sensibilities? If so, good!”

Diana Russell, Angel REALLY didn’t like this women. Diana was the U.S. Secretary of Education, and while she was fairly proficient at her job, that did not mean she did her job well. There were numerous rumors and allegations surrounding Diana. Most prominently, was that she was deliberately burying evidence of teachers abusing students. Angel knew that while most of these accusations were not true, some of them were.

Additionally, Diana had an inferiority complex; she could not stand the idea that the American public education system was ‘imperfect’ or ‘inferior’ to foreign education. Due to this, Diana had effectively restructured a vast majority of public schools as well as their curriculum.

Even so, her methods were nothing short of underhanded. The current situation was a prime example.

After it came to light that Angel was born as an American citizen, politicians and pundits came out of the woodwork to make countless baseless accusations. Some of them even came up with semi-logical arguments. Diana’s argument was one of them: Angel needed to go to school.

The problem was that Angel did NOT need to go to school. They knew more about theoretical physics than most physicists! Despite what humans think, magic is not simply about will and intent. That was a part of it, but that could only get you so far. In order to use advanced magic, precise calculations were needed: teleportation required calculating relative distance, gravity control required a keen understanding of physics, healing required a firm grasp of biology, etc.

Heck, the only form of science that WASN’T useful in magic was rocket science! Of course, that was likely to change, now that monsters could entertain the idea of exploring outer space.

The fact remained; Angel could learn nothing from a human public school.

But Diana would hear none of it. “You will be attending New Kansas City Middle School starting next week. I have taken the liberty of setting up all of your classes. The schedule is included with the rest of the paperwork.”

“You mean this paperwork?” Angel picked up the stack of nearly 60 pages and dropped them back onto the table. It sounded like a body was dumped on the floor.

Diana smiled cruelly, “It seems that disappearing for six months and hiding one’s identity can cause all sorts of problems, doesn’t it?”

Angel began sifting through the stack of papers, “More like you have some deep-seated hatred of trees.”

“Joke all you want, you are still going to school.”

Angel found their new schedule. They were somehow even more insulted. “None of these classes are AP. In fact, one of these classes is remedial! Explain.”

“You have missed a considerable amount of classes. Some remedial courses are to be expected.”

“Remedial. English. Screw. You.”

Diana scoffed, “Perhaps you could learn some manners in this class. But I won’t hold my breath.”

“And pray tell, why is Home Ec on here?”

“Every girl should know how to cook for herself.”

…

Diana thinks that she’s SO clever. The jokes on her, Angel’s cooking skill were even better than Rebecca’s. In fact, the only person who was better at cooking than Angel was Toriel.

Fifty attempts, and they STILL couldn’t recreate Toriel’s butterscotch cinnamon pie. Honestly, it was starting to feel like the universe itself was pulling a prank on them. The recipe was IN THE NAME, how could they fail so many times!?

Regardless, Angel got off easy, so they decided to ignore the blatant misgendering. Instead, they focused on something else. “I am a citizen of the Netherworld; as a result, I do not have to adhere to ANYTHING regarding your education system, or its rules.”

“That’s funny, because Angelica Robinson is a registered American citizen, and you are Angelica Robinson. So yes, I think it does.”

“You think? That must have been quite painful for you. Regardless, I am currently seeking asylum in the Monster Kingdom, and I renounced my American citizenship months ago.”

Diana smirked, “Prove it. Oh, wait, you can’t! Because you are a child, and you do not have the authority to renounce your own citizenship!”

“They do, actually.”

All eyes turned to Ericson, who had remained silent throughout the exchange.

Diana voiced her confusion, “Sir? What are you saying?”

Ericson nodded to Angel, “During one of our earlier dialogues, Angel and I agreed that if they were an American citizen, it could cause problems later down the line. Some countries would accuse us of attempting to ‘colonize’ the monsters. That is to say, turn the Monster Kingdom into an American colony. To minimize these concerns, I agreed to give Angel the right to renounce their citizenship at their discretion. This is, or perhaps was, an executive order. Additionally, neither Congress nor the Supreme Court have made a move to challenge this order. So if Angel says they have renounced their citizenship, then there is nothing left to discuss.”

Diana was shocked, “Why would you DO that!?”

“…I believe I made my justification quite clear. However, I do agree that Angel should be attending school. Therefore, I would like to extend a formal invitation for Angel to attend, what was it? New Kansas City Middle School? (God, why is that name so long?) I hope you will accept.”

‘Damn it, Ericson! Why would you betray me?’ Angel sighed, “Very well, I accept. But I will need special concessions from the board of education.”

Diana scoffed again, “I’m afraid we will offer you no special treatment.”

“Not for me, you daft bird! I want the board to formally acknowledge that ALL Netherworld/Monster Kingdom citizens are protected within both the public and private education systems. AND that no one within these organizations may discriminate based on race, with SPECIFIC mentions for monsters!”

Ericson nodded, “Done.”

Diana was shocked once again, “What? Not done! We can’t just—”

Ericson glared at Diana. That shut her up.

Angel picked up their paperwork pile and bowed slightly to Ericson. “Thank you, Mr. President. I am glad that some people are able to see the bigger picture.”

Ericson stood and returned Angel’s bow. “Agreed. If there are any problems, please contact me.”

Angel left, and Ericson sat down again. He sighed internally; he knew he was going to have to put up with another Diana-brand rant.

“What is WRONG with you!? You can’t just bypass me completely like that! It is MY job to ensure that the public education system runs smoothly, and I can’t DO that if you constantly make changes without my input! Do you think this is easy? Because it’s not! You can’t expect—”

Ericson was not in the mood for this shit, “Shut. Up. If you were paying attention you would have noticed something: Angel’s request was completely reasonable, and if we had refused, we would have, indirectly, claimed that monsters do not deserve protection within our school system. This would have caused an outcry from various groups. And not just pro-monster activists either! Many people would have drawn parallels to the, 2026 ‘faith in schools’ argument. Do you want to open THAT can of worms, Diana?”

Diana cringed openly.

“I didn’t think so. So do us all a favor: Drop it.” Ericson sighed, “I apologize, I should not have been so terse with you. But please, don’t fight me on this. It’s for the greater good.”

Ericson stood and walked out, leaving Diana alone with her thoughts.

  


* * *

  


“Good afternoon, America! I’m Donny Vermillion! And today we at NAN have some important news for you all! After many months of speculations, we have finally unmasked the enigmatic Ambassador Angel! Their ‘American’ name is Angelica Robinson. But that’s not all! We at NAN have an exclusive interview with the Monster Ambassador’s parents! Let’s go to Katie Springs. Katie?”

The station switches to a camera in another studio, where Katie is sitting down with the Robinson’s.

“Thanks, Donny. I am here with Michael and Rebecca Robinson, the parents of Angelica Robinson. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson would you please confirm, for all the viewers at home, that Ambassador Angel is, in fact, your biological child?”

Rebecca nodded, “Yes, that is correct.”

“Okay, now while I’m sure it’s a difficult topic, I need to ask: How do you feel about the monsters keeping and raising your child?”

Rebecca remained as diplomatic as she could, “…Let’s not pretend that isn’t a loaded question. Anyways, if you’re asking if I WANT Angel to move back in with us, then the answer is yes.”

“If that’s the case, why isn’t she? Or are you currently pursuing legal action?”

“We are not pursuing legal action, nor will we. The reason Angel is still with the monsters is because Angel chose the Dreemurrs over us. I respect my child’s decision, and that is why THEY will remain with the monsters.”

“But isn’t Angel only ten? Isn’t that a bit young to—”

“For a NORMAL child, yes. But my Angel has never been ‘normal.’ Angel is a prodigy, a wunderkind. The average American’s IQ is about 100. Angel’s IQ is twice that. On top of this, I have never known Angel to make an emotional decision… unless chocolate was involved.”

“I see.” Katie paused, “Although, now that I think about it, there’s no way a normal child would be able to act as a successful good-will ambassador… I rescind my previous question. But why did you agree to leave Angel with the Dreemurrs?”

Michael answered this one, “Because Angel has never been one to let something go. If they decided they want to do something, there’s no stopping them. Angel is very determined. Not sure where they get it from, honestly.”

Katie nodded, “And do you think Angel is safe there? With the monsters, I mean.”

Rebecca spoke, carefully keeping her voice even, “As a mother, I will not let anyone hurt my child. And while I’M not there to watch over them, Toriel— Mrs. Dreemurr, IS. I can tell that Mrs. Dreemurr and I are on the same page, so…”

Rebecca turned to the camera, “If anyone DOES try to mess with our child, they will have a *BLEEP*-off magical goat-woman to contend with!”

Katie nervously laughed, “Well, that is a pretty good argument. Sadly, we are out of time right now. We will be back after these messages. Stay tuned for more of our exclusive interview!”

  


* * *

  


Angel dumped all the paperwork onto the dining room table.

Toriel stared quizzically at the mountain of paperwork. “What is this, my child?”

Angel sat down and lay their head on the table, “Diana’s revenge for not being a ‘good girl.’ Stars above, I hate that daft bird!”

Toriel sighed, “Diana is as you say. I presume this is regarding the new school?”

“Indirectly, yes. They don’t want me attending a monster school. They also believe that they can find something to discredit me if I attend a public school. They are mistaken, obviously.”

“…Or, maybe they truly believe you need to go to school? Children need an education, do they not?”

Angel pulled their head off the table and looked at Toriel like she just said the sky was green. Toriel did not notice; she was too busy looking over the papers.

Angel sighed and hopped out of the chair, “I will go over this tomorrow. I presume you will go over it yourself as well?”

“You presume correctly, my child.”

“Knock yourself out. I’ll be in my room.”

Angel went upstairs, and Asriel came downstairs. “Why does Angel look like they want to stab someone?”

Toriel shook her head, “Please, do not joke like that! However, to answer your question, Angel will be going to a human school. Apparently, it is called… ‘New Kansas City Middle School.’ It seems that your father’s naming skills are shared by some humans, does it not?”

Asriel shuddered, “Now that’s scary! Can I see Angel’s schedule? Also, when will they start? Next Fall?”

Toriel pulled the schedule from the stack and gave it to Asriel, “Here, and no, it seems that Angel will be starting next week. My stars, that is not much time to prepare, now is it?”

“…Next week…”

“Hmm? Is something wrong, my son?”

Asriel continued to stare at the schedule. Suddenly, an idea formed in Asriel’s mind. Angel was going to hate it, but… “Mom? Can I ask you for a favor?”

  


* * *

  


_Meanwhile, at an unknown location…_

A mysterious figure, clad in a black coat, continued staring at the computer monitor. He wasn’t listening though; he was lost in his own thoughts. The screen showed the Robinsons, answering questions in an interview.

THE Robinsons, the parents of his most hated enemy.

“So it IS you… I wasn’t sure before… But if THEY are certain…”

The mysterious figure started laughing, it was so funny!

“You think you’re clever, don’t you! But I see you for what you are… And soon, the whole world will too…”

A bolt of energy smashed the screen.

“I will show them your TRUE self…”

He sneered.

“Murderess!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Human Middle-School (A.K.A. Hell)
> 
> Goat-bro can fight? Go figure.


	15. Human Middle-School (A.K.A. Hell)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel goes back to school, with an unexpected tag-along. Asgore and Toriel have a disagreement about the children's futures. Sans does recon.

_“Okay! Are you ready to take me on for real?”_

_“Angel, wait. There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you…”_

_“What is it, Azzy?”_

_“Well… It’s about this book I read a long time ago. It said that monsters were really susceptible to ‘killing intent.’ Is that what you meant when you said you ‘won’t hold back?’”_

_“…? …Oh! I think I know what you’re talking about. You are referring to the fact that monsters are more sensitive to the intentions of others. Yes, it is true that an incredibly hateful human COULD do extreme amounts of damage with even the weakest of strikes. But, the book you are talking about is a bit misleading.”_

_“How so?”_

_“Well… Hmm… How do I explain? Imagine if you will, that you hated a human, a SPECIFIC human. You do not hate ALL humans, just that one human. With me so far?”_

_“I think so.”_

_“Now imagine that you hate ALL humans, just because they are human, no other reason. Now, the first scenario is an example of hatred for an individual; the second scenario is an example of hatred for an entire group.”_

_“…Okay, but how is that important?”_

_“Simple, for hateful intentions to be especially harmful to monsters, the human in question needs to hate THAT monster specifically. If a human hates ALL monsters, then it doesn’t matter how strong that hatred is, it won’t be enough to kill in one strike.”_

_“…So, if someone hated all of monsterkind, they wouldn’t be able to… you know?”_

_“Commit genocide? No, not even close. However! If a human were to have a rather… poor history with a monster… AND they know the monster personally, then said human could be capable of a ‘one-hit kill.’ But simply being a racist scumbag won’t cut it.”_

_“…So… Um, if you hated me, and Papyrus, and everyone else…”_

_“…I could kill with one strike, yes.”_

_“…”_

_“But, if I’m being perfectly honest… If I had to choose, I’d much rather kill myse—”_

_“No! Do NOT say that!”_

_“…Sorry, I sometimes forget… I just, did not want you to fear me.”_

_“Angel… I could never be afraid of you. Never.”_

_“…Heh, you say that now… But you’re about to see just how powerful I really am! Don’t hold back, brother!”_

_“*sigh* Okay. Guess I can’t stall forever…”_

_“Ready?”_

_“…Ready!”_

__

_“3… 2… 1… FIGHT!”_

  


* * *

  


It was a beautiful day outside…

On days like this, kids like Angel…

Should be burning in hell.

And that, was the plan.

Okay, to be fair, Angel wasn’t going to literal hell. If such a place did in fact exist, Angel would be going there soon enough.

In the meantime, they would just have to settle for something far worse than hell: Human Middle-School.

The last week had practically flown by, almost as if time itself wished to see them suffer. Angel figured it was just karma, they probably deserved this.

“I don’t care if you think ill of me, but…” Angel paused for dramatic effect, “Middle-School is hell. Period.”

Toriel sighed, “I understand that most children are not particularly fond of school. Regardless, you are going to school, are you not?”

“I have a choice!?” Angel gasped, “In that case, I’m going back to bed. Goodnight!”

Toriel shot out an arm to pinch Angel’s ear, “Unfortunately, that question was rhetorical.”

Angel couldn’t help but wince. It was so strange for them, getting stabbed through the heart was less painful then a weak ear-pinch. Or maybe Angel just wasn’t used to this particular kind of pain…

Asriel rolled his eyes at Angel’s predicament, and started heading upstairs. “I’ll go grab the school stuff.”

During the previous week, Asriel and Toriel went shopping for school supplies. Angel didn’t go; they had expected that Toriel would take them along, even if she had to do so with them kicking and screaming. Angel would not literally kick and scream, but the amount of smart-mouthed comments would be will beyond insufferable.

But strangely enough, Toriel didn’t even ask once. Perhaps she knew how much Angel would protest. It seemed unlikely she would let that stop her, however.

Several seconds later, Asriel returned to the living room to find Angel rubbing their ear, staring intently at the ceiling. “Is school really that bad?” he asked.

“Yes.” Said Angel.

“Not at all.” Said Toriel at the same time.

Asriel sighed, “I guess I’ll find out soon enough, huh?”

Angel let out a single, cruel laugh, “Ha! Good thing you aren’t coming with me, you get to be home-schooled. Lucky, lucky goat-bro!”

Asriel chuckled nervously, “Um, about that…”

Angel turned their attention to Asriel, he was holding two backpacks.

…

…

…Oh no.

“Asriel…” Angel began slowly, “Please tell me that the next thing I hear from you isn’t ‘I’m going with you!’"

Asriel shook his head, “Look at it this way: At least we get to burn in hell together!”

Angel face-palmed.

Toriel was filled with concern.

  


* * *

  


Ebott City lay at the foot of Mt. Ebott, and Mt. Ebott itself lay at the heart of Kansas State.

The locals once believed the mountain to be cursed, that is why they pretended that the mountain simply did not exist. It wasn’t until after the Time of Troubles that anyone was willing to speak of the dreaded mountain. That just meant that it was easier to convince the United States Government to part with the land.

That being said, Kansas’ State Government was less than pleased.

The citizens of Kansas were absolutely livid when the federal government traded their land away. The state was reimbursed very well, but that didn’t stop people from complaining. People thought that the government didn’t respect them, did not respect their state’s rights.

With their pride hurt, the locals looked to take out their frustrations on their new, and unwanted, neighbors.

Angel knew how to prey upon the pride of others, and the best way to turn the wounded pride of another to your cause, was to mend it yourself.

Kansas was once known for its productive farmland; the Time of Troubles ravaged their prized land, and turned the it into a dustbowl. Kansas’s state pride was lost, and Angel found a way to mend it.

Monsters, through their very presence, have a mild restorative effect on the world around them. The magic monsters did not use was not simply lost; it is gradually released into the world around them. This unfocused, unexpended energy was beneficial to simple plant and animal life. This, coupled with conventional healing magic, allowed monsters to quickly restore a modest portion of farmland with minimal effort.

When the locals learned of this, their opinions began changing quite rapidly.

Suddenly, monsters were beloved by the locals. They stopped talking about how much they had lost, and instead spoke of how much they could regain.

News of doom and despair may travel quickly, but news of hope and good fortune travel powerfully. Kansas became the most publicly supportive state for monsters, as a result, it was perhaps the only state were monsters could travel in relative safety. Even so, it was still far from ideal.

But with the concessions Angel was able to secure from President Ericson, monsters were officially protected within schools. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Unfortunately, it did have unforeseen side-effects: Asriel had asked Toriel if he could attend New Kansas City Middle School with Angel. Even more unfortunately, Toriel and the school had both agreed.

And now, Angel stood in front of the school. It was the last place on Earth they wanted to be, along with the one person they cared for above all else.

Needless to say, Angel was feeling VERY conflicted.

Why would Asriel want to subject himself to this? Angel wondered if Asriel was secretly a masochist, or if he was just too naive to realize what he was getting into.

Either way, it was back to school for Angel.

Before they fell, Angel had never even set foot inside this place; however, they had been forced to attend classes here throughout various RESETs. They knew what was waiting for them inside.

Asriel did not. This was obvious by the way Asriel was practically vibrating with excitement. “I’ve never gone to school before! I’m so excited! Come on, let’s go!”

Angel sighed, “Careful, Azz… If you keep vibrating like that you will clip into the geometry and start earning crazy amounts of ollie points…”

“I have NO idea what ANY of the means, and I’m too excited to care! Let’s go!” Asriel took Angel’s had and practically dragged them into the building.

Angel started to protest, “Wait! Azzy, there is something you need to—”

“You’re late. Hmpf! I should have known such, _creatures_ , would be incapable of punctuality.”

Angel sighed and addressed the woman before them, “Hello, Linda. Glad to see your reputation is well-earned.”

“Quiet.” Said the stern-faced human, “I don’t care about you’re ‘diplomatic’ status. You WILL respect the faculty of this school. Understood?”

…This woman was Linda. She was, without question, the most obnoxious person Angel had ever met. If there was one nice thing Angel could say about their _Arch-Enemy_ , it would be, ‘At least they aren’t Linda Thompsen.’ Yes, ‘Thompsen.’ Angel was convinced that Linda had misspelled her own name at one point, and was too proud to admit that she made a mistake and just rolled with it.

Linda was a racist, homophobic, hypocritical, prude.

She was also the principal of New Kansas City Middle School.

This is why Angel dreaded coming here. Linda was the worst, in every timeline in which they met, Angel would be forced to endure harassment and verbal abuse from this woman.

And now Asriel would have to endure it as well.

Linda stepped forward and pulled out a ruler. Angel thought about doing something, put decided it would be better if Asriel learned to hate this woman at the very start.

Angel did nothing as Linda smacked Angel and Asriel’s interlaced hands with the ruler.

Angel didn’t react at all, they simply released Asriel’s hand. Asriel, reacted a bit more strongly, “Ow! What was that f—”

“Rule #1 of Polite Society: No PDA! Ever!” Linda put away the ruler.

Asriel rubbed the back of his stinging hand, “What does P-D—”

“Rule #2 of Polite Society: Don’t talk back to your betters! I mean, your teachers!” Wow, Linda was slipping already, she must be REALLY upset that a monster is here.

Linda was the kind of person who hated change. Any change, good or bad, was deemed evil in the eyes of this woman. And since monsters themselves were a change, she hated monsters. She hated them almost as much as she hated LGBT people. Or, ‘queers’ as she so elegantly called them.

Seriously, this woman couldn’t be any more of a stereotype if she tried.

Asriel opened his mouth to speak, but quickly thought better of it and chose to remain silent instead.

Linda looked at the two children and scowled, “Make no mistake, you two will be sent home at the FIRST sign of disobedience! Furthermore, when, NOT IF, I catch this _creature_ trying to eat a child, I WILL call the police!”

Angel was content to suffer Linda’s bullshit in silence, but they would NOT tolerate her disrespecting their brother!

Angel stepped forward, placing themself between Linda and Asriel. Asriel could feel the hatred rolling off them, he started shaking. He didn’t like it when Angel got like this, but he knew better than to try and calm them down.

Despite their anger, Angel’s closed-eye smile was so sweet it would give you cavities.

Angel’s tone of voice was equally so, “Mrs. Thompsen, if I may? I would like to remind you that verbally assaulting a minor is a serious offence in Kansas. Furthermore, if you continue down this path, there will be an international incident, and even your ‘friend’ Diana will be unable, and unwilling, to protect you.”

Angel opened their eyes, “ **Understand?** ”

Linda cowered slightly, but only for a moment before composing herself. Only humans that were suicidal, or were overcome with true evil could withstand Angel’s venomous words.

Linda wasn’t evil, she was just an idiot.

Linda made of show of huffing indignantly, “Just hurry up and get to class! Class starts in two minutes!”

Angel did not respond, them simply grabbed Asriel’s hand and dragged him towards their first class.

 _‘I thought she said we were late?’_ Asriel’s thoughts were a little hard to hear amid all his other emotions.

 _‘She lied.’_ Was Angel’s response.

  


* * *

  


Asgore and Toriel were sitting at the dining room table in their surface home.

Asgore was nervous, the fact that there was no tea meant that Toriel wanted to discuss something important, and Asgore couldn’t figure out what.

But he did have a theory… “Tori,” he began, “I am sorry that I have been unable to visit you and the children more often. Work has been quite… engrossing, as of late.”

Toriel nodded once, “I understand, dear. Angel has been quite busy as well, I know it is no fault of your own, we both knew this would happen, and so did the children. However, that is not the reason I called you here.”

Asgore scratched his beard in thought, “Did something happen at school then? I heard Asriel was going to go to a human school, along with Angel…”

Toriel sighed and shook her head, “That is TODAY, Asgore, and while I am somewhat concerned, I highly doubt the children could get into significant trouble in just one day. No, the reason I called you here was to talk about the future.”

“Oh! I believe I understand.” Asgore smiled warmly, “You are concerned about the future of humans and monsters. I understand.”

Toriel sighed again. Asgore had a bad habit of misinterpreting things. Sometimes, he was completely clueless. “No, Asgore. I mean the futures of our children.”

Asgore tried to laugh off his mistake, he failed, “I see, what about the children?”

“…Have you put any thought into what they should do? The world is changing, everything is changing… I am, unsure of which path our children will follow.”

Asgore nodded, “Of course! Asriel will become King, and Angel will continue to serve as the Ambassador.”

Toriel closed her eyes and shook her head, “…And do you believe that Asriel wishes to be King? Have you asked him?”

“Um, no?”

“Then why do you presume he would want to?”

“Um… I… Hmm, you raise a valid point, Tori. We should ask Asriel if he wishes to become King, and if he does not, we shall ask Angel, I believe they would make a great Monarch.”

Toriel was getting fed-up with Asgore’s foolishness. She tried very hard to keep her aggravation for becoming noticeable, “Indeed, I am sure either of our children could become successful rulers. HOWEVER! I do not believe that ruling the Kingdom should be the only path available to them…”

Asgore said nothing, he simply gave Toriel a confused look.

Toriel could practically hear the wheels turning in Asgore’s head. “I have overheard things, things that our children have said when they believe that I cannot hear them. Angel has expressed a strong… distaste for politics.”

“Oh? Then why did they agree to become Ambassador?”

“…I believe it is because there was no other choice. Had Angel not taken the position, we most certainly would not have gotten as far as we have. I confess, that neither of us are well-suited to handling Overworld politics. Without Angel’s advice, we would have stumbled many times, would we not?”

Asgore nodded, “That is true. This is part of the reason I asked them in the first place.”

“…And as for Asriel, I feel as if he is not… enthusiastic, about the idea of becoming king. Perhaps I am misinterpreting things, but I feel as though we should be more considerate of our children’s feelings.”

Asgore nodded along, “I see. Then, we shall ask them for their opinion.”

Toriel sighed again, it seems Asgore simply wasn’t getting it, and she wasn’t in the mood to explain things further. She was deeply disappointed in her husband, not because he did not think to ask, but because he needed Toriel to explain that he needed to ask. “…Indeed, let us ask them, later, when things have quieted down.”

“Of course, Tori. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call.”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Asgore left.

Toriel loved Asgore, but sometimes… He was a little too dense for her liking.

  


* * *

  


Sans was awoken from his mid-morning nap by the sound of his phone going off. The ringtone was ‘Spear of Justice,’ that meant it was Undyne. Sans knew that if he didn’t answer then it was more than likely Undyne would come over to check on him, or send Papyrus to do it for her.

Sans didn’t want anyone checking on him if he could help it, so he answered his phone. “what’s up, ‘dyne?”

“Sans! I’ve heard reports of a strange, robed individual lurking around the outskirts of town! I’ve called Dogamy and Dogaressa to start a search, but I want EVERYONE in the guard looking for this person! We don’t know if they are friend or foe, but I’m not taking any chances! That’s why we’re calling in all the sentries too! So get your bony ass up, and start looking! Find ‘em, and I’ll give you a month off work!”

“…nah, i was gonna take the next month off anyways.”

“PAID time-off!”

“…wow, you must be desperate. ‘kay, i’m on it. have you called paps yet?”

“I’ll call him right after you. I know about your ‘shortcuts,’ so I knew you could cover more ground than your brother could. NGAH! Why am I explaining this to you!? Get moving!”

*Click!*

Welp, looks like Sans was going to be busy today.

It’s true that Sans could teleport all over town, but there were better ways to search for people. Sans got out of bed and sat down at his desk, he opened up his laptop and started searching.

Alphys had set up a bunch of magic sensors around town, she claimed that she wanted to study the effect monster magic had on the local environment, something about it being a favor for Kansas or something.

The important thing was, that the sensors could detect ANY kind of magic, and that is what Sans needed. 

One of the sensors’ started reading a surge of purple and blue magic. Sans checked the readings in detail. If Sans was reading this right, then he was 99.9% certain that a ‘Blink’ spell was cast near that area. ‘Blink’ was a short-ranged teleport spell, Sans used to use them all the time, but he stopped when he perfected long-range teleportation.

Sans checked the surveillance camera that was connected to the sensor, after a few moments of watching an empty backstreet, Sans saw two dog monsters come bounding up to the camera. Sans recognized them, they were the Dogi couple, Dogamy and Dogaressa! They were sniffing the ground, as if searching for something…

Suddenly, it all clicked: The dogs were searching for the mystery person Undyne mentioned, and their search led them there. If the dogs knew what the scent was, they wouldn’t be acting like this… that meant the person they were tracking wasn’t a monster…

Angel had told sans that they were not the only human to still possess magic. According to them, most human mages were reclusive in nature, and were unlikely to show themselves to anyone.

But if that was the case, why was THIS human mage skulking around the city?

Sans had a bad feeling about this…

Looks like Sans would have to have a word with the young Ambassador when they got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Life and Death
> 
> And you thought YOUR middle-school principal was bad!


	16. Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel's training is completed. Middle school happens. The autopsy results are in.

_Angel and Asriel both lay on the ground, surrounded by scorch marks and discarded weapons._

_Angel was the first to speak, “Looks, *pant* like it’s a draw. *pant* This time!”_

_Asriel said nothing, he simply lay there and tried to get his breathing back under control._

_“It looks like there is nothing more for me to teach you, Azzy. *pant* But, I’d be more than willing to spar with you again. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a REAL challenge.”_

_“…I think, we should wait a bit… At least until I can feel my legs again.”_

_Angel started laughing, their laugh turned into a coughing fit._

_“…Are you okay, Angel?”_

_“I’m fine, but seriously, I really want to spar again sometime. Even Undyne cannot push me this far!”_

_“…Didn’t you struggle in your fight against Dr. Gaster?”_

_“You mean when I was almost-dead and only had about 1/5 of my total HP?”_

_“…Touché.”_

_“…You really are something special, Azzy. But… why did you want to learn to fight in the first place? I KNOW you don’t like fighting, so why?”_

_“I told you, I wanna protect people!”_

_“But that’s MY job.”_

_“…And who is gonna protect you if you’re protecting everyone else?”_

_“Me, obviously.”_

_“Angel… I don’t like it when you get hurt, and I know the others feel the same. So why do you put yourself in danger like that? And don’t just say ‘I’m immortal!’ I want the REAL reason.”_

_“…Do you really want to know?”_

_Asriel nodded once._

_“…Very well. It is because I have hurt people. I have hurt a LOT of people. As such, my life isn’t worth protecting.”_

_“You’re wrong. You are worth protecting! And one day, I’m going to show you why. It’s a promise!”_

_“…Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”_

__

_Despite Angel’s words, they were smiling._

  


* * *

  


Angel and Asriel made their way towards their first class. All the while, almost every student was staring at the two of them. It was clear that none of them had seen a monster up close before. Asriel was suddenly very nervous, he was used to people being a little too interested in what he was doing, but this was just plain creepy.

Due to the fact that both Angel and Asriel’s enrollments were last minute, they ended up sharing all of their classes. Asriel was grateful for this, he wasn’t sure if he could handle all of this on his own. Meanwhile, Angel was grateful for the shared classes because it meant that they could keep an eye on Asriel. Otherwise, he might get into trouble.

Speaking of trouble, Angel noticed a familiar mass of anger approaching them. Angel didn’t feel like putting up with THAT idiot right now, so they subtly used blue magic to unlock one of the hallway’s school lockers. Once the idiot was in range, Angel suddenly popped the door open; it swung wide and smacked the student in his face.

“Fuck! Ow! What was—”

“Brad!” a middle-aged man called from across the hall, “Did I just hear you swear?”

Brad quickly answered while he continued rubbing his face, “N-no sir! I said, ‘freak,’ yeah…”

The teacher clearly didn’t believe Brad’s obvious lie, but decided to drop it in favor of telling someone else to pull up their pants.

Asriel didn’t notice these events, he was too busy trying to NOT have a panic attack.

The bell rang, and students quickly remembered that they had places to go, and hurried off to class.

By the time the Dreemurr children reached their first class, the halls were almost empty.

They found a woman in her late-twenties waiting for them outside their first class. She smiled when she saw them, “Hello, my name is Ms. Nightlocke. I will be you homeroom teacher.”

“Howdy!” Asriel said, “I’m Asriel, and this is Angel! But, I guess you already know that.”

“I do.” said Ms. Nightlocke, “Now, I feel as though I should let you know a few things first. Because of ‘security reasons’ your school schedules are secret, for now. Once people see you attend classes that will cease to be the case. Also, we will not be offering you ANY special treatment in regard to disciplinary action. This means if you misbehave you will be sent to the principal’s office, and judging from the looks on your faces, I’m guessing you’ve already met Principle Linda.”

Angel and Asriel nodded.

“…I don’t think I need to tell you that you should avoid that, if at all possible. Now that all of that is out of the way, since I’m sure most students will be distracted by your presence, through no fault of your own, I want you to introduce yourselves to the class. I hope that this will minimize the disruptions and allow us to actually learn something today. Can you do that for me?”

Asriel was eager to introduce himself to the rest of the class, “Yeah, we can introduce ourselves! Right, Angel?”

Angel shrugged, “…Sure, why not?”

The teacher nodded, “Thank you. Follow me please, and wait for my signal.”

The two children followed Ms. Nightlocke into the classroom.

The three of them stood in front of the class as Ms. Nightlocke cleared her throat, “Ahem! May I have your attention please? I would like to introduce our two new transfer students: Angel and Asriel.”

Nightlocke gestured to the new students; Asriel was the first to speak, “Howdy! I’m Asriel!”

Angel suppressed the urge to sigh, they doubted that Asriel had made a good first impression, but they could worry about that later, “Greetings, I am Angel.”

The class’ response was entirely without life, “Please to meet you Asriel and Angel.” Asriel got the impression that the class was forced to do this every time a new student was added to the class.

Ms. Nightlocke nodded in approval, “Good, now… the two of you will be seated in the second row.” Ms. Nightlocke pointed at the only two empty desks.

Angel and Asriel made their way to their seats and sat down. Ms. Nightlocke was about to begin the lesson, when she noticed something, “Um, excuse me but, are you having trouble seeing the board?”

Angel made a ‘Who, me?’ gesture.

“Yes, you. It looks like your squinting.”

Whoops! Looks like they forgot to open their eyes. Being near Linda with their eyes open would almost always result in a nasty comment being hurled their way, so they kept their eyes closed when Linda was around. Sometimes Angel would forget to open them again.

Angel shook their head, and opened their eyes. “I can see perfectly fine.” They said.

Ms. Nightlocke nodded once, “Okay, so who here remembers where we left off last week?”

  


* * *

  


The next three hours were fairly boring. Asriel quickly discovered that everything the teachers were going over was stuff that he had learned years ago. If it were not for all the constant staring, Asriel could have fallen asleep, he was so bored. Angel actually did fall asleep in third period, the teacher noticed and called on them to answer a question. Angel answered correctly before going right back to sleep.

If Asriel didn’t know any better, he would have thought that Angel used the SAVE system to get the answer right. The question was kind of easy, but still.

Now it was time for lunch. Apparently, the school had so many students that they had to divide the students into two groups: Group A would take lunch after third period, while Group B attended fourth period; then Group B would take lunch and Group A would attend their fourth period.

Angel and Asriel were both in Group A, so they made their way to the cafeteria. Toriel had packed them both a nice lunch, so there was no need to wait in the obnoxiously long line with the other students. Instead, the two children sat down at the far end of the cafeteria, putting as much distance between them and the mass of noisy teenagers.

“So…” Angel started, “Which part do you hate the most? So far, I mean?”

Asriel sighed, “Well… that lady was really mean… and it’s a bit noisy, and I feel like the teachers should be teaching, I dunno, something a little bit more…”

“Advanced?” Angel offered.

“Yeah, that.”

Angel shrugged, “From what Toriel told me, monster schools are slightly more advanced than human schools, so much so that the American’s sixth grade, the one we’re in now, is nearly equivalent to the Netherworld’s fourth grade, the grade kids our age are normally in. This, coupled with the fact that we are both fairly, for lack of a better word, ‘advanced’ means that we are not being challenged in the slightest.”

Asriel thought about this for a second, “Wait, is that why everyone looks older than us?”

“Yes, that is why. Academically speaking, these people are beneath us.”

“…Angel, that’s mean. You aren’t going to make many friends here with that attitude.”

“…You say that like I WANT human friends. I don’t.”

Asriel was a little shocked to hear this. He always knew that Angel didn’t like humanity, and that they felt very strongly about this, but he always believed it was because they never met any nice humans.

It was at that time that a small group of students approached them. The group was comprised of a boy and two girls. 

“Hello!” said one of the girls, “We noticed you two were sitting alone, so we decided to sit with you!” The boy and the other girl nodded sheepishly.

Angel was about to roll their eyes and make a snide comment, but Asriel beat them to the punch, “You can sit with us if you want.”

The three children set their food trays down before sitting down themselves.

The boy was the next to speak up, “We should probably introduce ourselves, my name is Hunter.” He gestured to the girl who spoke earlier, “This is Bianca, and that is Zoe.”

“…Hi.” Said Zoe, Angel could barely hear her over the constant din of the cafeteria.

Asriel decided to look over the newcomers.

Hunter had brown hair and had somewhat pale skin, he wasn’t as pale as Angel, but from what little Asriel knew of human ethnicity, the boy was clearly Caucasian. His eyes were brown.

Bianca was also Caucasian, but she had blonde hair that went down to her shoulders. Asriel thought that her blue eyes somewhat resembled sapphires, they looked almost liked they could shine.

Zoe was the smallest in the group, which was saying something considering she was at least two years older than Angel and Asriel. Zoe was, Asriel guessed Hispanic, but he wasn’t sure, she had short, jet-black hair, just like Angel, and had green eyes.

Asriel turned his attention back to Bianca, her sapphire-blue eyes made Asriel curious for some reason.

Bianca seemed to notice Asriel’s gaze, because she giggled, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

This snapped Asriel out of his reverie and he went back to eating. After a few moments, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

This caused Bianca to giggle again, “It’s okay. Do you know why?”

Hunter sighed, “Please don’t, Bianca. I think he’s younger than us.” Hunter turned to Asriel and quickly added, “No offence.”

“…I was just going to tell him that cute boys like him can get away with staring!”

This prompted another sigh from Hunter, “Please forgive Bianca, she’s a bit of flirt.”

Asriel shrugged, “Eh, I’m used to it. Angel’s a bit of a flirt, too.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow, “What? Ms. ‘Kill You With a Look’ over here?”

Angel shook their head and pulled out their slice of cinnamon-butterscotch pie, “It’s ‘Mx.’ actually, and I don’t flirt with humans.”

Zoe raised her hand, she quickly realized that she didn’t need to and lowered it, “Um, then how can you flirt, if not with humans?”

Hunter face-palmed and Bianca tried to suppress a giggle. Angel responded by reaching across the table and grabbing Asriel’s snout, before planting a quick kiss on the end of his nose.

Asriel immediately pulled out of Angel’s grip as his cheeks began heating up. He couldn’t believe that Angel just did that! They just had to go and embarrass him in front of their new friends!

“Oh, wow.” Bianca said with a wide-eyed stare, “I can’t believe you just did that! I mean, it was SUPER cute and all, but…”

Angel smiled smugly, “I’m guessing you have never kissed anyone before, have you?”

Bianca quickly averted her gaze, her face started turning red. Looks like Angel hit the nail on the head.

Asriel noticed her discomfort, so he gave Angel a knowing glare. Angel rolled their eyes and tried to comfort Bianca, “It’s fine, you should not be kissing random guys at your age anyways. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“…You really think so?”

Angel nodded once.

It was then that Angel noticed a familiar presence approaching.

Brad.

Angel was STILL not in the mood to deal with him, so they quickly came up with a plan.

Angel pointed to the leftover banana peel on Hunter’s food tray, “Can I borrow this?”

Hunter gave Angel a weird look, “Um… Sure?”

Angel snatched the peel and… shit, they didn’t have a knife! They didn’t have a utensil of any sort, and there was no time to get one.

Looks like they had no other choice… Angel subtly drew the Angel Blade from their jacket and extended the blade to about half-an-inch. They used it to scrape a small part of their pie’s filling and slathered it onto the inside of the peel. Angel hated using the Angel Blade for anything but fighting and threatening, but they were out of options.

Hunter noticed the small blade in Angel’s hands. His eyes went wide and his body froze, he was afraid that Angel would stab him if he so much as moved.

Angel didn’t notice or care. They finished coating the peel, wiped-off the Angel Blade and returned it to its hidden pocket.

Angel closed their eyes and watched the approaching human with SOUL-Sight. A little closer… and…

Angel teleported the slicked-up banana peel directly underneath Brad’s foot as he took a step. The result was exactly as expected. Brad slipped and fell, hitting his head on the nearby cafeteria table on the way down.

Brad swore as he started to stand, using the table to support himself.

The male teacher from before called out, “Brad! What happened?”

Brad held the side of his head; he was bleeding just below his right temple. “I, slipped… on…” Brad looked down at the banana peel at his feet, “…a banana peel…?”

The teacher shook his head, “Okay, very funny Brad. If you’re going to act like a class clown, do it in a way that DOESN’T get you hurt. I don’t want to have to call your parents and tell them you hurt yourself!”

Brad was stunned, Angel wasn’t sure if it was from the fall or the accusation, “Wha? I, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

The teacher gave him an angry glare, “Nurse’s office. Now.”

Asriel was the only one who picked up on what just happened, “Angel! Why did you do that?”

Angel shrugged, “I do not know what you are talking about. Hurry up and eat, lunch is almost over.” _‘I’ll tell you later.’_ they said with telepathy.

It didn’t take the other children long to figure out that Angel was responsible for what happened. They decided to keep quiet. None of them really liked Brad, he was mean to all of them, and they knew it was pointless to complain to the teachers about him.

The three of them saw this turn of events as an absolute win.

Lunch ended without further incident.

  


* * *

  


After lunch, Angel and Asriel went to fourth period. There they were bored half to death. Asriel had an epiphany when he heard the biology teacher say, “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” That EXACT phrase was used in numerous memes that Asriel had watched with Angel. At the time, he didn’t get why Angel found them so funny, but now it all made sense.

Asriel decided that human school was boring, and he really hoped a monster school would be better. Still, he didn’t come here because he wanted to go to school, well he did, but that wasn’t the main reason.

Fourth period ended at long last. Their next class was ‘Remedial English,’ whatever that meant.

Asriel knew where that class was located, which only confused him when Angel started walking the other direction. “Um, where are you going?”

‘ _Skipping._ ’ Was their response, ‘ _Trust me, you do NOT want to go to that class._ ’

Asriel wasn’t sure what Angel meant, but he followed them anyways.

Angel climbed a flight of stairs, then another. The two children found themselves in front of a locked door labeled ‘Rooftop Access.’

Angel unlocked the door with magic and walked outside, Asriel quickly followed. Angel noticed that they were being followed, so they made sure to lock the door behind them.

Brad tried in vain to open the door. After a few minutes, he gave up and went away.

Angel smiled to themself, crisis averted.

Asriel heard the bell ring, they were going to be late. “Um, shouldn’t we go to class?”

“Diana put me in Remedial English just to mess with me. It is a class for people whose first language is not English. We have no reason to be there. Honestly, even a Temmie’s English is better than some Americans, and that’s just plain sad.”

“…Really? A Temmie? Those cute things that say stuff like ‘hOI!’ and ‘sUCH a cutE!’”

“Yeah, as I said, it’s just plain sad. Although, I’m pretty sure they CAN talk normally, they just choose not to. Regardless, we have some time to kill, so let’s just take a break, maybe enjoy the view?”

Angel gestured to the view of New Kansas City. Asriel looked around; they were the only two people up here. Asriel was certain that they weren’t supposed to be there, but that didn’t matter.

Angel walked over to the edge of the building and sat down; Asriel joined them. They sat and took in the view, it wasn’t particularly impressive, but it was better than listening to the teachers drone on and on.

After what felt like forever, Angel spoke, “Why are you here, Az? I know that you have often thought about attending school, rather than being home-schooled by Toriel. But why now? Did something happen?”

Asriel hesitated, of course Angel would see through him, it was one of the things he liked about them, they saw him more clearly than anyone else. “Papyrus told me something, and it made me realize… that I shouldn’t be afraid of what the future holds. So instead, I’m gonna enjoy the present! And… um, I only really enjoy… being around you…”

Angel turned to look at Asriel, their expression unreadable.

Asriel quickly backtracked, “Um! Th-that sounded really weird, didn’t it? I just meant that I… I care about you, that’s all! And, and… I know how much the, ‘You-Know-Whats’ effect you. I just don’t like seeing you get hurt. Seeing you hurting, it hurts worse than dying myself…”

Angel turned their gaze back to the horizon, “Asriel, there is something you should know: To me, you are the most important thing in this world. You are the only thing that has kept me relatively sane, throughout all of this. Despite the odds, you pulled me back from the edge, reminded me of things I forced myself to forget. You gave me a new reason to live. On that day, I swore I would make your dream of a better world a reality. I want to make a world in which you, and all the people like you, can be happy.

Even if it means… I’m not in it anymore…”

Asriel reached out and took Angel’s hand, “Angel, there is something YOU should know: To me, YOU are the most important thing in this world. I could never be happy if you left… That’s why I’m here. I don’t want to waste what time we do have, I... want to spend that time with you. I want you to be happy too.”

Angel’s breathing got funny for a moment, and Asriel thought he had said something wrong, but Angel smiled, “You’re far too nice for this world. You know that right?”

The two children sat there, gazing into the horizon.

Two lonely SOULs, teetering on the brink, ready to snap.

If either one of them died, truly died… The world’s future would be forever sealed.

  


* * *

  


_Later that day, after sixth period._

Brad was sitting in the principal’s office staring down at the floor. He hated being here, it never ended well.

Principal Linda was staring out her office window, watching the Dreemurr children leave the school. After they were gone, Linda spoke, “I heard you were sent to the nurse’s office. Something about a dumb joke.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Brad grumbled, “it was an accident.”

Linda turned to Brad, “The fact that I heard that you went to the nurse’s office is not the problem here. The problem isn’t about what I DID hear, it’s about what I DIDN’T hear. Do you know what I didn’t hear?”

Brag shook his head.

“I didn’t hear about how a certain _creature_ was sent to the nurse’s office. I didn’t hear about how that _thing_ got caught fighting another student. I didn’t hear anything of the sort, and THAT is the problem.”

Brad said nothing.

“You were supposed to beat that _freak_ within an inch of it’s life. Send it packing, away from this school, but you couldn’t even start a fight in the first place! What have you been DOING all day?”

Brad sneered, “If you want rid of them that much, then use the fact that they snuck up to the roof! The door was locked, so they had to steal a key, or maybe pick the lock? Arrest them for breaking and entering! Or something!”

Linda scoffed, “It’s not that simple. I need violence, I need to show the world that these, _things_ are dangerous! That they should not be allowed anywhere near children.”

“…That goat-freak looked like a kid to me.”

Brad instantly regretted his words. Linda glared at him with barely-restrained fury.

“Make no mistake,” Linda said, “If you are the one to help humanity see the truth, you will be set for life. Instant pop-culture celebrity status. After all, it’s not like your grades are going to get you into a good college at this rate, regardless of your athletic achievements… unlike your brother, Hunter.”

Brad winced. Linda wasn’t pulling her punches, she knew how much Brad hated being compared to his younger brother.

Linda sighed, “Looks like you need some help. Fine, I will help you. Tomorrow at lunch, wait outside the gym. Do NOT mess this up, understand?”

Brad nodded slowly, “Okay, mom.”

  


* * *

  


President Ericson sat in the oval office. Vice-president Colson was standing off to the side of the room, reading the report that was handed to him. Meanwhile, a man in scientist scrubs was standing in front of the President’s desk.

Ericson was staring at the edge of his desk. “What did you find?” he asked.

The man cleared his throat before beginning, “Before we start, how much do you know about forensic science, sir?”

Ericson looked surprised for a second; he turned his gaze towards the forensic scientist, “Not much I’m afraid. Why?”

“I was curious if I should give the detailed analysis, it’s all in the report.” The scientist nodded towards the report Colson was reading. “I suppose I should give you the cliff notes version then? Is that acceptable, sir?”

Ericson nodded once.

“Okay… The bodies we were given are, in a word, impossible. They make a mockery of forensic science as we understand it.”

Now Ericson was intrigued; intrigued and deeply concerned. He sat up straight, “What do you mean?”

“To understand that, I would need to explain a LOT of different procedures and how they work, as well as how they DON’T work. To keep it short and simple, the bodies are very old, but the signs of decay are almost non-existent. The oldest body is over 2,500 years old, and the youngest is around 200. We ran tests on the items that the children had on them when they died, and the results from those items matched the bodies’ results, so it looks like the bodies were not tampered with, but that just shouldn’t be possible.”

Ericson nodded again, “Is that because of the decay, or lack thereof?”

The scientist shook his head, “That is just ONE part of it, sir. According to the Ambassador’s report, the first child to fall had a faded ribbon and a plastic knife. I find it hard to believe that a child would have a plastic toy… 2,500 years ago!”

“Do we have the toy?”

“No, the Ambassador said the ‘weapons’ were being withheld for ‘security reasons.’ If you could negotiate for the items, it could answer some questions…”

Ericson sighed, “No can do, the Ambassador claims that these items may have been exposed to dangerous magic when they crossed the Barrier. Something about negative emotions and weapons ‘not mixing well,’ regardless please state the items you examined.”

“We examined the following: one faded ribbon, one pink bandana with muscles drawn on it, one ballerina tutu, one pair of glasses, one stained apron, and one stereotypical ‘cowboy hat.’ The age of these items match the age of the bodies one-to-one. This just makes the lack of decay even more surprising.”

“…And the cause of death?”

“Falling, sir. There is no doubt about it. That being said, someone did attempt to… reconstruct the bodies. The needlework was impressive, but there were no signs that they were trying to be subtle about it. A closer analysis revealed that the bodies likely… broke apart, when they landed. This is conclusive with the rest of our results, indicating that there was no attempt to officiate the cause of death.”

At some point, Ericson started staring at his desk again. After a few moments of silence, “Looks like the monsters were telling the truth all along. I knew it… ” Ericson turned to Colson, “Do you see anything unusual, my friend?”

Colson didn’t bother looking up, “It all seems to check out… so far.”

Ericson nodded and turned back to the scientist, “Take the report, finalize it, and be ready to post it online. I will make my announcement tomorrow; upload the report when I begin. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

The scientist left.

Ericson sighed and leaned back in his chair. Ever since the monsters appeared, Ericson started having a bad feeling. He only ever had these feelings when things were going to end badly, when people were going to get hurt.

Some part of Ericson’s mind kept telling him to trust the monsters, but this nagging feeling always gave him pause.

Something was very wrong, and Ericson needed to figure out what that was.

It was a matter of life and death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter End Notes:  
> Next Time: A Matter of Perspective
> 
> The original meaning of this chapter title was supposed to be more symbolic: Angel and Asriel’s discussion was supposed to revolve around the idea of ‘a reason to live,’ whereas Ericson’s scene was supposed to revolve around death. Kind of lost that meaning, huh?  
> Also, the first person to guess where I got the middle-school student’s names (minus Brad) will get a cookie!*
> 
> *Cookie may or may not be real.


	17. A Matter of Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans wants answers. Angel thwarts an ambush. The president gets a mysterious letter.

With a flash of blue and purple, Angel and Asriel appeared in the living room. Toriel, who was reading a book, looked up and greeted them. “Welcome back, my children! Did you have fun at school?”

Asriel shrugged, “It was kinda boring, honestly. I think the material was too easy, or something? But, that’s okay! It will get more challenging later, right?”

Angel laughed once, “Hah! Good one, Azzy!” Angel’s grin faded when they saw Asriel’s confused expression, “…Oh, you weren’t joking? Whoops!”

Angel dropped their backpack on the couch. Asriel did the same. “Why did you think I was joking?”

Angel snapped their fingers and teleported both bags into their room. “Elementary, my dear goat-bro! You see, it is the first week of May, and schools in America close for the summer, therefore, classes will be over by the third week of May.”

“So… that means…”

“They were preparing for the final exams. They were reviewing everything they learned during the spring semester.”

“But, everything was so… simple!”

“…That just means we could skip that grade; assuming we passed the appropriate test, of course. But I will bet you a lifetime supply of chocolate that Diana will never allow it.” Angel cussed out Diana under their breath.

Toriel sighed, “I heard that, my child. Regardless, I am sorry you did not find the course work engaging. Perhaps you would prefer attending school here in Ebott City, would you not?”

Angel responded without hesitation, “Literally anything would be an improvement!”

Asriel’s own response was slower, “Well, we DID make some friends there… but we could just make more friends at the new school, huh?”

“yup, i’m bettin’ you’ll both be super popular. just like my bro.”

Toriel smiled, “Why, hello Sans. To what to we owe the pleasure?”

Sans stepped out of the hallway, his smile seemed a bit more genuine when he saw Toriel, “eh, just had a question about somethin’. since it looks like things were pretty dull at the school, maybe the kiddo would like to talk magic instead?”

Angel nodded, “Sure! Some intellectual stimulation would be nice. Honestly, I feel DUMBER after going to school.”

Asriel shook his head, “Somehow, I doubt that. You two go, I wanna talk to mom for a bit.”

“welp, looks like it’s just you an’ me kiddo. don’t worry, i know a shortcut.”

Sans snapped his fingers and the two of them teleported in Angel’s room.

Angel gave a wry grin, “My, my. Teleporting directly into my room? I didn’t know you could be so forward, Mr. Skeleton.”

“…as amusing (and slightly creepy) as you’re insistent flirting is, we need to talk.”

Angel nodded and cast a Sound Barrier around the room. Once Angel was sure it was secure, “Shoot, what’s on you skull, comedian?”

“i think we got a mage _skull_ -king around town. someone in a robe, and they can teleport. no other info, ‘cept that the dogs didn’t recognize the scent.”

Angel said nothing.

“i’d appreciate some answers, kiddo. i know ya want me to trust ya and all, so could ya throw me a bone here?”

“…I’m sorry, Sans. I cannot tell you anything. However! I can tell you that there is no danger to the town, or its inhabitants. I cannot say anymore.”

“kid, we are literally inside a sound-proof bubble. There’s no way anyone could hear us.”

“…I’m sorry, but I still can’t tell you anything. I must ask for blind faith, at least in this regard.”

It was Sans’ turn to give the silent treatment.

“Sans, I want to—”

Sans closed his eyes and interrupted them, “ya know what, kiddo? fuhgeddaboudit. i guess you just can’t trust me, after all. it’s fine, i should’ve expected this from ya. sorry to be such a bother.”

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything! Just, not right now. At this rate, I should be able to answer all of your questions sometime next month, in early-July! I promise!”

Sans continued the silent treatment. After nearly a minute, he opened his eyesockets, “i’m gonna choose to trust ya, kiddo. but, if you don’t keep your word… ‘this,’ whatever this is, it’s over. no second chances, go it?”

Angel nodded slowly, “Thank you, Sans. You’re a good friend.”

Angel dispelled the Sound Barrier, and Sans took a ‘shortcut’ home.

Alone in his room, Sans muttered to himself, “please… don’t make me regret this.”

  


* * *

  


_The next day…_

Angel woke up to the sound of silence. It took them a moment to realize that they woke up early. It was unusual, but it did happen from time to time. Angel checked the time, 6:05 AM. Toriel was always up by 6:30, and the children’s alarm was set to go off at 7:00.

Angel tried to go back to sleep, but their mind wandered. They began thinking about possible outcomes for events that had not happened yet, responses to questions that no one asked…

…It was clear that Angel was not going to get anymore sleep.

Angel was about to get up when they felt something stir next to them. They had completely forgotten about the ‘nightmare’ they had last night, and the fact that they quietly climbed into Asriel’s bed in order to get back to sleep.

Angel carefully climbed out of bed, grabbed the Crimson Cloak, and teleported downstairs.

If Angel was going to wake up early, they may as well make themself useful. Besides, they needed something to distract them from their own thoughts.

Angel made their way to the kitchen and checked the fridge… looks like Toriel will be grocery shopping soon. Despite this, there were enough ingredients for a standard scrambled eggs breakfast.

Angel turned on the stove, pulled out the skillet and plates, then once the skillet was nearly ready Angel pulled out the eggs and other ingredients.

It was around this time that Toriel entered the kitchen, “…Ah, I suppose you were having trouble sleeping again, were you not?”

Angel shrugged, “Good morning, Toriel. Cheese or no cheese?”

“No cheese, thank you. You did not answer my question, however…”

Angel shrugged again and began beating the egg yolks.

Once she realized no verbal response was forthcoming, Toriel spoke again, “My child, I know that you have been troubled by something. I want you to know that if there is anything you wish to speak about, I will always be willing to listen.”

Angel poured the egg mixture into the skillet; it began giving off a satisfying sizzle. “I know, Toriel. Don’t worry, I’ve got this under control.”

“…That only makes me worry all the more.”

Angel turned their head to look at Toriel, “Why? I think you will find this breakfast, _egg_ -celent!”

Despite herself, Toriel began giggling.

Angel refused to let up, “I guess you could say, breakfast is _over-easy_.”

Toriel’s giggling intensified.

“I’m guessing that pun was too _cheesy_ , huh?”

Toriel began openly laughing. After a few moments, Toriel remembered that Asriel was still sleeping, and forced herself to quiet down.

Toriel began prepping the bacon and toast, while Angel managed the eggs.

A few minutes later, Asriel came downstairs. He was about to say something, when he noticed that Angel was cooking. That simultaneously answered his question about the noise, and made him forgive the two of them for waking him up early. Asriel really liked Angel’s cooking. He still couldn’t decide which he liked more, Toriel’s snail pie, or Angel’s homemade ‘breakfast biscuits.’ If only Angel cooked them more, they only ever cooked them when Asriel asked them to as part of their monthly wager.

Asriel briefly remembered that Energy Elixir from earlier, but decided that potions don’t count as food.

Angel noticed Asriel sit down at the dining room table, “Good morning, Azzy. Cheese or no cheese?”

“Cheese, please!” Asriel answered.

About fifteen minutes later, and family was sitting down at the table, ready to eat.

Angel took a bite of their eggs. Cooked to perfection, the added milk made them extra fluffy, while the added cheese gave them extra flavor.

Angel wasn’t sure why Toriel always asked for no cheese; maybe she was allergic?

Either way, Angel began going over their plans for the day: They had classes almost all day, then they had to review the appeal from the National Rifle Association, apparently they wanted to sell guns in Ebott City, like THAT was a good idea. The LAST thing a time of tense peace needed was more guns.

Angel internally sighed; they would rather deal with politics than school. At least politics had a point to it, a strange, needlessly convoluted point, but a point nonetheless. There was no point in going over lessons that Angel has heard at least fifty times before.

Once breakfast was finished, Angel and Asriel had to get ready for school.

  


* * *

  


Angel practically slammed their bagged lunch down onto the cafeteria table. The only reason they didn’t was because that would have damaged their food, and they had absolutely zero interest in trying the school’s fat-free, gluten-free, ‘all-natural ingredient’ pizza.

It tasted like cardboard, Angel could tell just by looking at it.

The Dreemurr children had endured three classes so far…

Three left…

“This is so boring!” Asriel whined, “How about we make this more interesting? If either of us fall asleep during a class, it will count as a point towards the monthly wager. Sound good?”

Angel mulled it over; they were at a definite disadvantage here, but… “Fine, but the last three classes didn’t count! And only one point per class!”

“Deal!”

Angel and Asriel shook hands.

It was then, that the three children from yesterday approached.

“Hello again!” said Bianca as she sat down.

“Hope we’re not intruding.” added Hunter, as he sat down.

Zoe also said something, but neither Angel nor Asriel could understand her quiet murmuring.

Angel wasn’t really in the mood to chat with these humans. Asriel, on the other hand, “Howdy! Are you guys as bored as we are?”

Hunter shrugged, “Review week is always boring. Unless you’re in AP or something.”

“Aren’t YOU in AP classes, Hunter?” Bianca asked.

“Just AP Algebra… But I am in the Computer Science class, that’s a year ahead of most people. But, my mom made me do it…”

Suddenly, Bianca seemed incredibly nervous, “Oh! I’m sorry, I almost… nevermind.”

Angel had a theory as to what just happened, they decided to test it, “Hunter, if you’re trying to keep the fact that Linda is your mother a secret, don’t bother.”

Hunter quickly looked up from his food, “Wh-what? How did you know?”

Angel knew because they had figured it out in a previous timeline, but since they couldn’t just say that, they instead went with the method they used the first time around.

Angel pointed down at the Student ID card that was hanging around Hunter’s neck. “Your ID card says ‘Hunter Tompsen.’ Linda’s last name is Tompsen. It is kind of obvious.”

Hunter looked down at his ID card, “…Oh, uh… I, I should’ve guessed that… Well, then I guess you also know that Brad is my older brother too?”

Angel nodded; Asriel just stared blankly, he didn’t know ANY of this! He wondered why Angel didn’t tell him. Then again, it didn’t really matter, did it?

Hunter continued, “Also, um… I don’t know if I should tell you this, but… Brad is planning to beat the two of you up today. I don’t know when, but if I find out I’ll tell you.”

Angel balled up the remains of their bagged lunch, “…He plans to do so during lunch today; which is to say, in just a few minutes.” Angel stood up and tossed the wadded-up bag into the nearby trashcan. “The three of you should stay here; me and Azzy have this covered.”

Angel stood up and started pulling Asriel to his feet.

Asriel started to protest, but then he saw the look in Angel’s eyes. Angel was being serious.

Asriel decided to play along, “Yeah, don’t worry. We got this!”

Angel led Asriel toward the gym. Along the way, Angel explained their plan in detail. The plan was to try diplomacy first, if that failed, Angel would… _take care_ of any opposition. Asriel could NOT get involved in ANY violence. If he did, it would result in scandal.

Angel didn’t need the SAVE System to know that, it was just such an obvious ploy.

After nearly two minutes of walking, the two of them reached the gym. Brad was standing near the main entrance, talking to a bunch of larger children.

Judging from their size, they must be eighth-graders, the oldest students in New Kansas City Middle School.

Angel sighed. In truth, they knew there was no point in trying to resolve this peacefully, they had never succeeded before. They doubted this would be any different.

Angel smiled warmly, “Greetings, Chad. Who are your friends?”

Brad spun around, “My name is Brad, not Chad! You and that freak can’t talk to me like that!”

Asriel tilted his head slightly to the side, confusion plain on his face. “Um… But, I didn’t say anything?”

“I don’t care!” Brad yelled.

Angel sighed, “Look, Chad there—”

“It’s BRAD, dumbass!”

“As you say, Chad the Dumbass. Regardless there is no point in fighting; you should just pack it in. If you do that, we can forget all about your weak attempt at an ambush. Sound good?”

Brad was openly fuming, “Call me Chad, ONE MORE TIME!!!”

Angel pretended to be confused, “But why? You will always be ‘Chad’ to me, and that shall NEVER change…”

Brad swore loudly, time to leave.

Angel raised their hand and signed the letter B. Asriel recognized the signal and ran out the nearest exit.

“Catch us if you can~!” Angel taunted, before darting after their brother.

“Get them!” Brad yelled. He and the others chased them outside.

Brad and his goons were in hot pursuit, but Angel and Asriel were able to easily stay ahead of them.

After nearly a minute of running, the Dreemurrs found themselves in a dead-end.

Brad and his goon squad had caught up. “No more running, you little shits!” Brad yelled.

The two children turned to face their pursuers, Asriel backed up until he was against the wall. Angel stood their ground.

The goon squad closed in…

Angel started laughing.

Angel’s sudden laughter unnerved Brad, “Wh-what’s so funny, you little freak!? St-stop laughing!”

After a moment, Angel’s laughter subsided enough for them to speak, “Oh, wow. You really are an IDIOT! In case you didn’t know, the school is covered in security cameras. If a fight broke out, everyone would know EXACTLY how it was started!”

Brad quickly looked around, “Yeah… But there ain’t any cameras here, dumbass!”

“I know… **That is why I led you here.** ”

Angel lifted their head, and stared directly into Brad’s eyes. It was at that moment when Brad realized he had messed up…

Angel’s eyes were glowing.

Brad barely had time to scream before Angel had descended upon him and his goons.

_One brutal smack down latter…_

Brad was sitting down in the principal’s office; almost every visible inch was his skin was covered in bandages.

Brad stared at the floor, while Linda stared at him. “Would you mind telling me how you, and nearly two-dozen eighth-grade boys, lost to a little girl and goat-faced freak!?”

Brad mumbled something.

“What was that!?”

Brad glared at Linda. This whole thing was her idea, Brad wanted to give up, but she wouldn’t let him. She wanted a reason to expel the monster child, and she wasn’t going to get one.

Brad was going to get in trouble regardless, so he figured ‘in for a penny…’

“I said: YOUR plan failed! The monster kid didn’t do jack shit to us! It was that bitch with the crazy eyes!”

Linda clicked her tongue, “I know you’re lying: girls can’t fight, and even if they could…” Linda slammed her fist into her desk, “They wouldn’t be able to fight-off. TWO. DOZEN. BOYS!”

Brad made a ‘tch’ sound with his mouth, but said nothing else.

It was times like this, when Brad really hated his mom.

  


* * *

  


Ericson stood before a crowd of nearly two-hundred new reporters, cameramen, and pundits. “People of the United States of America, as well as all citizens of the United Nations: Hear me! We have finally completed and reviewed the autopsy report of the six human children that had fallen into the Netherworld. The results were conclusive and accurate. We can now say, with ABSOLUTE certainty, that the children were NOT murdered!”

Cameras started flashing faster and various voices called out for answers. Ericson ignored them all, “I understand that you have questions. By the end of this announcement, the FULL report will be available online for your perusal. I have read the entire thing, cover to cover… There is NO indication of foul play. Therefore, the investigation into the deaths of these children is hereby concluded. Additionally, we can confirm that the most recent fatality occurred over 200 years ago, so any claim that these children may be involved in an active missing person’s case is… unlikely.”

Ericson was pelted with even more questions, but he refused to acknowledge them. Ericson knew when to stand his ground, to defend his position. He also knew when there was no point in trying to argue with someone. People would not take his word for it, so he intended to let the report speak for itself. The entire point of this announcement was simply to get people to read the report; that would dispel people’s concerns far faster than he could.

Ericson trusted the monsters; they had given him no reason to mistrust them. He also wanted to trust the young ambassador as well; he could tell that they were carrying a heavy burden.

But there was still something that was… _wrong_.

At least Ericson knew it wasn’t the monsters that he needed to keep an eye on.

…But then who?

  


* * *

  


_Later that day, in Angel and Asriel’s bedroom…_

Angel was watching Ericson’s announcement about the autopsy results. Angel was impressed by Ericson’s performance, he managed to work the reporters into something approaching a frenzy, and the people watching at home were in no better shape. That autopsy report was going to be the most-viewed document in human history. Well, most-viewed at time of publication, at least.

Things were going well; things had been going well for a while, in fact.

Angel was growing increasingly nervous. They knew that every time something went their way, something else was going to go horribly wrong.

The universe could never let Angel win, without making them suffer first.

As if sensing Angel’s growing discomfort, their phone dinged. Angel lifted their phone off the table and looked at the notification; looks like Papyrus posted something on the Netherworld’s biggest social media site, UnderNet.

Angel closed the app on their phone and logged into UnderNet on their computer. They preferred browsing the internet with their computer, it was faster and it had a bigger screen.

They found and read Papyrus' post: “AS THE MONSTER KINGDOM’S GREATEST MASCOT! I MUST THANK ALL OF THE HUMANS WHO HAVE BEEN SO WELCOMING! I HOPE THIS LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO GROW! NYEH HEH HEH!”

…Looks like human Acceptance was at 70.

Over the course of countless RESETs, Angel noticed a trend: Whenever certain criteria were met, certain events would occur. Most of the time, it was simply a matter of time. Sometimes, however, things would happen based on certain… semi-quantifiable values.

For example, Papyrus would always make this exact same post once humanity’s overall ‘Acceptance’ of monsters reached 70% or higher. Furthermore, if Angel asked Papyrus a question about the current state of affairs… Papyrus’ response would tell Angel _approximately_ where these ‘invisible values’ were.

Angel needed to confirm these numbers, so they called Papyrus.

“GREETINGS! AMBASSADOR ANGEL! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU THIS FINE EVENING?”

Angel smiled, Papyrus was strangely hard to predict at times, but his choice of words was always very exacting. He never minced words, unless he was very nervous, which almost never happened… “Greetings, Papyrus. I wanted to ask you about the current state of affairs.”

“OKAY! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT?”

“How do you think the humans feel about monsters?”

“…HM, I SUPPOSE THAT MOST HUMANS ARE COMING AROUND! I THINK THAT WE SHOULD CONTINUE SHOWING THEM HOW GREAT WE ARE! THAT WAY! WE WILL HAVE EVEN MORE FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH!”

That was the response Papyrus would give if human Acceptance was between 70 and 80.

“…I see. How do you think monsters are feeling about our diplomatic efforts?”

“…HM, I THINK THINGS ARE GOING WONDERFULLY! THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT! WE CAN STILL IMPROVE, OF COURSE! BUT, I THINK OUR EFFORTS WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE! THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT MONSTER MORALE! NYEH HEH HEH!”

That was the response Papyrus would give if monster ‘Hope’ was at or above 90.

“…I see. Thank you Papyrus, you have been a great help.”

“OF COURSE, AMBASSADOR ANGEL! THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS ALWAYS READY TO HELP GREATLY! FAREWELL! NYEH HEH HEH!”

*Click!*

Angel stared at the wall, going over their calculations, their predictions… their grand plan.

“…The pieces are in place. Now the real work begins.”

The only question was: Which course of action was best?

Angel was so deep in thought that they failed to notice Asriel enter the room. “Guess what, Angel!”

“!!! When did you get here!?”

Asriel didn’t seem to hear them, “I just got off the phone with Bianca and the others! They said they followed us after we left the cafeteria. They saw what happened between us and Brad!”

Angel sighed, “I told them to stay put! Whatever, what’s the damage this time?”

“There is no ‘damage!’ They thought you were super cool!”

Angel sat there, staring at Asriel. After nearly half-a-minute, Angel tilted their head to the side and gave a confused look, “…Eh? What do you mean, ‘cool?’ If they saw THAT, then they should be scared out of their minds.”

Asriel shook his head, “Nope! They said you looked like a, and I quote, ‘total-badass!’ See? I knew you could make friends with them!”

Angel was just getting more confused, “Okay, so just to clarify: the three of them saw me fight, and were actually impressed, rather than terrified?”

“Yeah, that’s what they said!”

Angel began going over the events in their head, if the children were impressed by that display…

Could an unbridled display of monster magic be what Angel needed? Could that be the thing which would give humans the perspective they needed?

This gave Angel an idea, one that was far better than anything they had already developed.

Angel grabbed their phone, they had a very important call to make.

  


* * *

  


Colson stood in the Oval Office and continued eyeing the unsealed letter, “You should have checked with me before opening that. ‘Oh, a mysterious letter appeared on my desk? Let’s open it!’ That was needlessly risky, sir.”

Ericson waved his hand dismissively, “There has not been even a single assassination attempt of a political figure since the Time of Troubles. Besides, what are they going to do to a letter? Coat the edges in poison and hope I get a paper cut?”

Colson nodded once, “That is a very real possibility, sir. Regardless, the damage is done, so to speak. What does it say?”

Ericson read the letter aloud, “ _Dear President Henry Ericson,_

_I am an individual whom possesses considerable information; information that you may find useful. I have no interest in politics, nor am I motivated by financial gain. I simply wish to ensure that any threats to the stability of this world are neutralized safely._

_I am certain that you and your associates have been keeping a close eye on the monsters. However, it is entirely possible that in doing so, you have turned a blind eye to the true threat._

_The true threat I speak of, is none other than the one you refer to as ‘Angel.’_

_Whatever you do, do NOT trust them! They are the one responsible for the massacre at the Gallonigher Circle Tower. If you doubt my word, then ask Angel about it directly. Fear not, they will not attack you. I trust you will see the cracks in their façade when you do so._

_I will be in touch soon,_

_A Friend_ ”

Ericson sighed and handed the letter to Colson, “Take this to the lab, see what they can find.”

Colson carefully took the letter, “I doubt anyone could sneak in here without the aid of magic. Do you suspect a monster is involved?”

“…No. A monster would not throw shade at their ambassador. This is… something else…”

Colson bowed slightly and left the room. When he returned a few minutes later, he found Ericson on the phone.

“…I will see what I can do. But I think you might be on to something… Yes, thank you. Goodbye.”

*Click!*

“Who was that, sir?” Colson asked.

“Ambassador Angel, they have a plan to help bridge the gap between humans and monsters.”

“…And that is?”

Ericson chuckled, “How does a fighting contest sound?”

Colson stared at the president for several seconds before speaking, “I’m sorry, that was a joke right?”

Ericson smiled, “No, no it was not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: The Contest
> 
> A longer chapter this time. I couldn’t break it into smaller parts without ruining the overall pacing of the story.  
> Yeah, I nicked the name ‘Gallonigher’ from Colony Wars. I was going to change it to something original-ish… But then I realized I can’t name for beans.  
> No really, I make Asgore's names look genius by comparison!


	18. The Contest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel's plan to showcase monster magic catches everyone off-guard. Even more surprisingly, everyone agrees to it.

The next month passed quickly, as Angel’s plan for an international magic contest had caught both humans and monsters by surprise. That being said, Angel wasted no time in setting up the event. They needed a venue, so they pulled some strings with the Kansas State government and managed to secure an old rundown stadium on the edge of the Topeka Ruins. The stadium was being refurbished when the Time of Troubles began. Since the city had been completely abandoned, all efforts to complete the stadium had been halted. With help from Alphys and the Ebott City construction crew, the stadium was rebuilt, better than ever!

While the construction was still underway, Angel posted advertisements asking for monsters to participate. Angel knew that while monsters were typically quite nice, monster culture as a whole encouraged competition. As a result, the mere mention of an international magic contest was enough to get monsters excited. Nearly two-hundred monsters had signed up, so Angel had no shortage of contestants. In fact, they had to weed out some of the weaker ones with a preliminary contest.

Next, Angel needed some human contestants; it would not be much of contest if only monsters participated. Sadly, no human mage would be caught dead (or alive) at a public magic contest, so no humans would be able to compete in most of the events. That was fine; Angel only needed human contestants for ONE event.

The contest would have three events total: an elimination-style ‘Copycat’ tournament, a magical-performance competition, and a fighting contest.

The game of Copycat was first. Copycat was very similar to the game ‘Horse,’ one player would attempt to perform some kind of trick with magic, then the other player would have to perform that same trick. This would go back and forth until one player failed three times, earning one letter of the word ‘cat’ with each failure. The winner of that round would advance to the next round.

The Copycat tournament ended with Burgerpants being crowned champion. Angel did NOT see that one coming.

The next event was the magic-performance competition. It was even simpler than a game of Copycat: magic-users would enter the stadium, either alone, or with a team, and attempt to impress a panel of judges with spectacular displays of magic. The goal was not destruction, but rather, an elegant display of lights, sounds, and emotions. It was kind of like performance art, except it was actually good.

The winners were Madjick and Knight Knight, who had worked together with rather impressive coordination.

Last, but by no means least, was the fighting contest.

This contest was the only one which humans could conceivably enter, since magic was not a requirement. Magic was allowed of course, but it wasn’t NEEDED.

This particular contest was much smaller than the others were, as it only consisted of three bouts. The Netherworld’s top three fighters would face-off against the Overworld’s top three. It was a best-of-three tournament, so each team only needed two wins. Of course, even if one team won the first two, the third fight would still happen. Neither humans nor monsters liked being denied a chance to show their stuff.

The list of fighters was kept secret, only a select handful of people knew whom the fighters were in advance, and even then, neither side knew whom they would be up against.

Even Angel didn’t know who would be competing on the Overworld’s team, just the Netherworld team.

Angel was excited, and so was everyone else.

The stadium was packed with humans and monsters alike, although they had been separated into different sections, a stipulation put forth by Colson. Even so, the excitement was palpable.

The first objective of Stage One was a complete.

Mettaton, who was in his improved EX form, brought the microphone to his lips, “GOOD AFTERNOON, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! IT IS TIME FOR OUR FINAL EVENT OF THE DAY! THE OVERWORLD V. NETHERWORLD FIGHTING CONTEST!!!”

The audience erupted into applause and cheers.

“I AM YOUR FABULOUS HOST, METTATON! I WILL BE YOUR ANNOUNCER FOR THIS UNDOUBTEDLY BREATH-TAKING SPECTACLE! I AM ALSO JOINED BY VICE-PRESIDENT RICHARD COLSON! AND! THE MONSTER AMBASSADOR ANGEL! WOULD EITHER OF YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS THE AUDIENCE BEFORE WE START?”

Colson cleared his throat before speaking, “I would like to thank everyone for attending this event. And I would like to thank both the humans and monsters who came together to make this contest a reality.”

Angel resisted the urge to scoff; Fine words, from a hypocrite.

“NOW THEN! LET ME EXPLAIN THE RULES! THIS IS A FIGHTING CONTEST: THEREFORE, FULL-CONTACT IS ALLOWED! FURTHERMORE, WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED AS WELL! CHEMICAL WEAPONS, OR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT VIOLATE THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS, OR ANY ASSOCIATED PROTOCOLS, ARE BANNED! IF YOU SOME MUCH AS HAVE ONE IN YOUR POSSESSION, YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED! CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE!”

Angel spoke next, continuing from where Mettaton left off, “Additionally, all fights are NON-LETHAL! I am sure that you have noticed the weird, green floating circles; the ones that look kind of like the iris of an eye. These are called ‘Lifeguard Wards,’ they are powerful Green magic spells that will detect when someone is at risk of being fatally wounded. If they are triggered, they will project a powerful green magic barrier to heal and protect the injured party. Additionally, the fight will end should a Lifeguard Ward be triggered. Any attempt to attack a defeated foe, or one that has surrendered, WILL be considered assault!”

“INDEED, DARLING! ONE FINAL THING: THE FIGHT IS OVER WHEN ONE SIDE HAS BEEN INCAPACITATED, HAS HAD THEIR HP REDUCED TO 50% OR LESS, OR SURRENDERS. SIMPLY ASKING FOR MERCY IS ENOUGH TO CONSTITUTE SURRENDER HERE. YOU MAY SURRENDER AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON. THE HP OF BOTH COMBATANTS WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THE LARGE SCREENS AROUND THE STADIUM! THAT WAY, EVERYONE CAN WATCH THE HP GO UP AND DOWN!”

Angel nodded, “Speaking of HP going up and down, all forms of magic are allowed, EXCEPT red magic attacks, those are banned under the Netherworld’s own equivalent to the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, NO healing items of any sort! That includes first aid items as well.”

Mettaton took a dramatic pose, despite the fact that only Angel and Colson could see him inside the announcer’s box, “NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO! BRING OUT OUR FIRST PAIR OF LOVELY COMBATANTS!”

Angel opened a pair of sealed envelopes and read their contents, “Representing the Overworld for Round One is… Austin Price, a world-famous martial artist!”

One of the two steel gates in the arena opened, and a man who looked suspiciously like Ryu from Street Fighter came walking out. Price took a deep breath and raised his fist into the air. He looked a bit silly, but the audience seemed to love it.

It was time for Angel to announce the next combatant, “Representing the Netherworld for Round One is… Papyrus Gaster, the self-proclaimed Monster Kingdom’s mascot!”

The second gate opened and Papyrus came strolling out, humming the tune of his theme song, ‘Bonetrousle,’ “HELLO HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THE SHOW! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“OH! WHAT AN INTERESTING MATCHUP!” Mettaton cooed, “I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT! COMBATANTS, ARE YOU READY?”

Price firmly nodded. Papyrus gave an affirmative ‘NYEH!’

“VERY WELL THEN…” Mettaton paused for dramatic effect, “BEGIN!!!”

*Ding!*

Papyrus opened in his usual style, with a barrage of bones.

Price easily side-stepped Papyrus bone attacks.

‘That was way too easy.’ Price thought to himself, ‘Something’s up…’ Price took a defensive stance; he was ready for whatever kind of sneaky attack the tall skeleton was preparing.

Papyrus repeated his attack.

Price effortlessly side-stepped the attack once more. “Quit playing around! This isn’t a game!”

Papyrus looked shocked, “OH NO! I SEEM TO HAVE OFFENDED YOU, HUMAN! BUT FEAR NOT! I SHALL NOW USE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Angel decided to interject here; they were a fight announcer after all, “I should probably mention that Blue Attacks will not hurt you if you remain still. Think of them as blue stop signs.”

A veritable cascade of blue bones descended upon Price. He sneered, “What kind of fool do you take me for?” The human tried to weave and dodge through the bones, but there were too many of them! He got knocked around the arena, thankfully his HP was still at 30/40.

Angel smiled, “I should also point out that I am not allowed to lie about the match, nor its rules. That would be most unbecoming.”

Price swore under his breath and stood up. He lunged at Papyrus!

…Only to suddenly stumble from Papyrus’ gravity magic! Price face-planted, hard. He lifted his head off the floor just in time to be pelted in the forehead by a tiny bone attack.

“NYEH HEH HEH! NOW YOU’RE BLUE! THAT’S MY ATTACK!”

“You’re blue now.” Angel quipped. “While under the effects of this form of gravity magic, you will find it harder to walk along the ground. On the plus side, you will be able to jump higher and have better control of yourself while in mid-air. My advice: Try jumping like a madman.”

Price considered ignoring Angel’s advice, but thought better of it. He did NOT want to get pelted like that again!

Papyrus launched another wave of bones; Price leapt high into the air, and was able to evade them.

“WELL DONE, HUMAN! LET US SEE IF YOU CAN KEEP THIS UP!”

Another bone barrage, this time it was more intense.

The martial artist was able to dodge the attacks once more. He wasn’t familiar with magic, and his earlier failure had made him wary, so Price decided to stay on the defensive until he found a clear opening.

Papyrus launched another bone attack, this time incorporating blue bones into the mix.

Price felt like he was starting to get the hang of this!

Papyrus launched another attack, then another… This pattern continued until both combatants were starting to get tired.

“LOOKS LIKE I WILL HAVE TO GET SERIOUS.” Papyrus rubbed his chin, “HM… I DON’T THINK MY SPECIAL ATTACK WILL WORK HERE… SO INSTEAD! PLEASE ENJOY THIS TOTALLY NORMAL ATTACK!”

Papyrus summoned what could best be described as a ‘forest of bones!’

Price was clipped a few times, but managed to hold out. Finally, a massive bone appeared and began moving toward Price!

Price knew he couldn’t jump over that… But he tried anyway! He leapt high into the air! He rose higher and higher.

…And higher and higher…

Until at last, he managed to clear the 100-foot tall bone, somehow.

Angel knew what had happened; Papyrus increased the power of his gravity spell to ensure that Price was able to clear the bone safely.

Angel sighed; of course Papyrus would do that. He was more focused on making sure his ‘opponent’ was having fun, instead of focusing on winning.

Either way, it looked like the fight was over; both Price and Papyrus looked ready to drop from fatigue.

“NYEH, HEH… WELL… IT SEEMS… THAT YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME… HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO SHOW YOU MERCY! I SHALL SPARE YOU NOW!”

Price gave Papyrus a confused look, “Um… I accept?”

*Ding! Ding!*

“AND WITH THAT, THE FIRST MATCH IS OVER!” Mettaton cheered, “GIVE IT UP FOR BOTH OF OUR WONDERFUL COMBATANTS!”

Colson shook his head, “Okay? But who won?”

Angel, who was already reading the rulebook, pointed to a line on the page, “According to this… the winner is Austin Price! Even though it is a bit of a technicality, the Overworld Team wins Round One!”

Papyrus brought both of his hands to his face, “OH NO! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT RULE! …WELL, I STILL HAD FUN! I HOPE YOU DID TOO! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Papyrus offered his hand to Price; he accepted after a moment of hesitation, “…Sure, I did too!”

The audience cheered again as the two fighter shook hands.

Angel cleared their throat, “That is one point for the Overworld, but it is still anyone’s game! Let us see what is in store for us in Round Two! Combatants, please exit the arena now and rest. You have both earned it.”

Once both Papyrus and Price had left the arena, Colson spoke, “While I am proud of the human contestant’s victory… But I still do not understand how he won. According to that digital readout, the monster was unharmed, and yet the injured human was victorious. Could you please explain while we wait for the next match?”

Angel nodded, “As I said before, it is a bit of technical victory… But the fact is, Papyrus offered mercy first, and Price accepted. This means that Papyrus TECHNICALLY surrendered. Therefore, Price was victorious.”

Colson frowned, “I’m not sure that I follow, but I will trust in your judgment.”

It was time for the next match to begin.

It was Colson’s turn to open the sealed envelopes, “For Round Two, representing the Human Team: Kari Sanders. And representing the Monster Team: Captain Undyne.”

The next two combatants took their places and began staring each other down. Undyne was wearing a lighter version of her traditional armor, whereas Sanders was wearing a gray form-fitting jumpsuit, there was a small cylinder-shaped item on her belt, but Angel couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.

Kari Sanders… It took Angel a moment to recognize that name. Ms. Sanders was once a successful stunt-double in Hollywood, until a male actor decided to cop-a-feel. Sanders bashed his head in and he ultimately died on the operation table later that day.

The movie studio that hired Sanders pressed charges, but they were dropped when nearly a dozen allegations of sexual assault came to light in the wake of the investigation. It seems that the deceased was quite the horn-dog. Sanders was cleared of wrong-doing, but her career in Hollywood was destroyed. Rumor had it that she had become a profession hitman, or in this case, hitwoman.

Angel decided to check Sanders’ SOUL. Her LV was only 4, if she was a hitwoman, she would have at LEAST an LV of 8 or 9. Looks like the rumors weren’t true, but Sanders had still killed before… and more than a once at that.

Judging from Undyne’s glare, Angel knew that their friend had picked up on that too. That was good; it meant Undyne wouldn’t take any chances here.

“ARE BOTH COMBATANTS READY?”

Both women nodded.

“…THEN… BEGIN!!!”

*Ding!*

Undyne opened with a barrage of spears, Sanders was able to dodge most of them, one or two managed to clip her, but the damage was minimal.

Sanders moved quickly, trying to close the distance between them. Once she was in range, Undyne conjured a spear and swung it at Sanders!

The human barely dodged the attack. She grabbed the cylinder-object off her belt…

And it extended into some sort of quarter staff! No wait, it was a two-handed spear!

From this angle, Sanders had a clear shot at Undyne’s left underarm. A strike there would leave Undyne crippled of the rest of the fight.

Sanders thrust her spear forwards… But Undyne was one-step ahead. A row of spears burst forth from the ground and blocked Sanders’ attack!

Sanders leapt backwards just in time to avoid another set of spears bursting from the ground.

“Not bad.” Sanders said, “What gave me away?”

Undyne chuckled, “Your eyes. You were staring at my left arm, even though I was holding my spear in my right hand. I figured you would go for a disabling attack first, to try and weaken me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid strategy; but it’s a strategy I’m used to by now.”

“Good to know…” Sanders rushed Undyne again, both of them swinging and blocking, neither of them were able to hit the other.

Most people think of spears as thrusting or throwing weapons, but that isn’t always the case. Some spears were designed to dispatch cavalry, or heavily armored targets, like the stab-y kind. But both of the fighters present were using spears with longer bladed ends, they were just as good at slashing as stabbing; provided of course, that you didn’t get too close and hit your foe with the blunt segment.

Angel could tell this fight was going to last while. They sat back and let Mettaton handle the commentating.

After nearly 20 minutes of back and forth, neither side had managed to gain a clear advantage. Both women were tired, but neither of them was going to back down. Angel was starting to regret not putting a time limit on these fights, but the look in Undyne’s eye told Angel the fight was almost over.

After all, Undyne hadn’t used her special trick yet; either of them.

Undyne, who had been on the defensive throughout the entire fight, suddenly charged Sanders! Sanders took a defensive stance, clearly expecting another flurry of attacks, but Undyne had different plans.

Undyne swung her spear, dragging it along the ground as she did so. Her swing fell short, but she wasn’t planning to hit Sanders.

Green sparkles flew past Sanders, who suddenly shifted uncomfortably, “Wh—why can’t I move!?”

Angel smirked, “That is a green magic spell that roots the target to the spot, preventing them from running away. It will wear off after a time, though.”

Undyne laughed, “Fuhuhuhu! Yeah! If you don’t face danger head-on, you won’t last a minute against me!”

Undyne took a large step back, and began raining spears down upon the rooted human. Sanders began swinging her own spear at the approaching projectiles. Angel continued smirking, they knew that you only needed to BLOCK the spears, not attack them. Sanders was successfully protecting herself, but she was also exhausting what little stamina she had left.

Once the barrage was over, Sanders was freed from Undyne’s magic. Sanders took a moment to reorient herself, that was the opening Undyne had been waiting for.

Undyne grabbed Sanders from around the waist, and before she could react, suplexed her straight into the ground!

*Ding! Ding!*

Undyne stood up with a triumphant fist-pump.

Sanders slowly struggled to her feet, “This… isn’t… over… I can… still fight…!”

“UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU, THAT IS NOT THE CASE! IF YOU WERE TO CHECK YOUR HP, YOU SEE THAT YOU ARE AT 9/56! WHICH IS FAR BELOW 50%! THIS MEANS THAT YOU ARE DEFEATED, TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT WOULD PUT YOU AT SUBSTANTIAL RISK! THE WINNER IS CAPTAIN UNDYNE! DON’T WORRY, FOLKS! AN OVERWORLD MEDICAL TEAM IS ON THE WAY TO HELP MS. SANDERS!”

Angel stood up and stretched, they used blue magic to bring their microphone closer so they could speak, “That was an impressive performance from both combatants! With the Netherworld Team’s victory, the scores are now tied at one to one! However, I will not be able to commentate on the next match. Instead, Prince Asriel Dreemurr will take my place for the remainder of the contest.”

Angel set the microphone down and nodded to Asriel, who had just entered the room. Once Asriel was seated, Angel teleported away.

Colson called out, “Hey! Where are they going?”

Mettaton shrugged, “NO IDEA! PERHAPS SOME AMBASSADOR THING, OR SOMETHING?”

Colson was not satisfied by this answer, but he dropped it anyways, “Tsk! Regardless, I was curious, how could we hear Ms. Sanders so well? She is clearly exhausted, how could we pick up her weakened voice with such clarity?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Asriel explained, “Did you see those little pins that each fighter had on the front of their outfits? Those are enchanted crystals! They pick up the voice of the person wearing them, and project them elsewhere. Kinda like a magical microphone, except it doesn’t pick up background noise, just the voice of the person wearing it!”

Colson nodded, “That, sounds incredibly useful… Humans have been trying to develop effective noise-suppressing microphones for decades. How many do you have? How much do they cost to make?”

“ABOUT 40 US DOLLARS A PIECE. NOT THAT MUCH AT ALL, DARLING! AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS TIME FOR THE THIRD AND FINAL ROUND! WHICHEVER TEAM WINS THIS, WILL BE CROWNED THE CHAMPIONS! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! MORE DRAMA! MORE VIOLENCE!! MORE BLOODSHED!!! …OKAY, MAYBE NOT _THAT_ MUCH BLOODSHED!”

Mettaton dramatically opened the first envelope, “FOR THE OVERWORLD’S TEAM, WE HAVE… JAMES CRAWFORD!”

The gate opened and a man in an US military uniform stepped out. “ACCORDING TO THIS, JAMES CRAWFORD IS A NAVY SEAL. I’M AFRAID I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE OVERWORLD’S MILITARY, BUT THAT SOUNDS VERY IMPRESSIVE!”

Colson nodded, “Yeah, it is. Don’t think that this will be easy. We saved the best for last, after all.”

Mettaton chuckled, “OH, SO DID WE, DARLING! WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… PRESENTING THE STRONGEST FIGHTER IN THE NETHERWORLD! KING ASGORE DREEMURR!!!”

The gate opened…

But nobody came…

“…ERM… I SAID… KING ASGORE DREEMURR!”

But nobody came…

“…YOUR MAJESTY, IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP… I MAY JUST HAVE TO CALL YOU BY YOUR EMBARRASSING NICKNAME!”

“Dad’s not fighting.” Asriel said.

“…EXCUSE ME? BUT… IF NOT KING ASGORE, THEN WHOM?!”

Asriel shrugged, “Maybe you should actually OPEN the last envelope… instead of making guesses?”

“…I SEE THE AMBASSADOR’S WIT IS STARTING TO RUB-OFF ON YOU… VERY WELL, THE LAST COMBATANT IS…”

Mettaton opened the envelope.

“…UH, TH-THERE APPEARS TO BE A… MIX-UP. ONE MOMENT PLEASE, WHILE WE SORT THIS OUT! DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL!”

Colson shook his head in exacerbation, “What is the problem now!? Whose name is on there?” Colson snatched the paper from Mettaton, “…Is this some kind of joke!? What the hell are you playing at!?”

Mettaton shrugged, “AS I SAID, DARLING! THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE!”

“There was no mistake.”

Everyone froze and looked toward the open gate. A figure walked out, “I am the Netherworld’s strongest fighter.”

The figure strode into the arena; they stopped at the designated starting point, and pulled back the hood of their jacket.

Everyone gasped when they saw who it was.

“My name… is Angel Dreemurr!” Angel pointed at James, “And I will be your opponent!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Do You Believe in (Human) Magic?
> 
> Protagonist fight-scene? Protagonist fight-scene.


	19. Do You Believe in (Human) Magic?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Protagonist fight-scene!

Asriel, Colson, and Mettaton all sat in shocked silence inside the announcer’s box. Angel was going to fight, no one had anticipated this.

…Except Asriel. Angel needed someone to fill in for them as an announcer, after all.

Colson slammed his fist into the table, “You intend to have a CHILD fight for you!? Have you no shame? No dignity? No—”

“ **SILENCE!!!** ” Angel’s shout hushed everyone, Colson included. “Let us get one thing clear… _I_ am the one who decided to enter the contest! _I_ am the one who came up with this idea in the first place! _I_ will be the one fighting! End of discussion!”

After several moments of tense silence, Colson was able to find his voice, “Even if that were true… Children are not allowed to participate! You are disqualified for that reason alo—”

“WAIT A MOMENT!” Mettaton interrupted, “LET ME JUST CHECK THE RULES REAL QUICK! I HAD THEM ADDED TO MY DATABASE JUST THIS MORNING! CHECKING… CHECKING… DONE!!! ANGEL’S PARTICIPATION IS LEGAL! THERE ARE NO RULES THAT FORBID THEIR ENTRY!”

“Like hell there isn’t!” Colson bellowed, “We have laws in place to specifically prevent children from being put in dangerous situations, like this one!”

Down in the arena, Angel shrugged, “There are similar laws in the Netherworld. However, none of them apply here. And I have YOU to thank for it, Colson!”

Colson sputtered, “Wh-what? How dare you! I had no part in this stunt of yours!”

Angel’s smile could not have been anymore smug if they tried, “In case you forgot, I am NOT an American citizen… therefore, American child protection laws don’t apply to me. That being said, Netherworld law requires that a child get written permission from their legal guardian before entering any competition, such as this one.”

Colson sneered, “So the King and Queen approved this farce? Why am I not surprised?”

“Incorrect! You see, Toriel would NEVER have allowed me compete here, not in a million years. But, now we get to YOUR involvement, Colson! You see, SOMEONE has been pushing against the Dreemurrs attempts to adopt me… As a direct result, the Dreemurrs are NOT my legal guardians, and are NOT liable for my safety! As a direct result, their permission is NOT needed for my entering this contest. Thank you for your accidental assistance, Colson!”

Colson was fuming; he had been shown-up by this little brat, on international-television no less!

Angel continued, “Because of all of this, I only needed to permission of the contest’s Netherworld coordinator, which I’m sure you all know, is ME. Thus, the only signature I needed was my own… And it’s all perfectly legal!”

“WELL, WELL, DARLING! YOU PUT A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT INTO THIS! IN THAT CASE. I SEE NO REASON TO DELAY THIS FIGHT ANY LONGER! THE SHOW SIMPLY MUST GO ON! COMBATANTS! ARE. YOU. READY!?”

Angel nodded once.

James Crawford shook his head.

“OH? IS SOMETHING THE MATTER MR. CRAWFORD?”

“Call me James, Mr. Crawford was my father.” James sighed before continuing, “Maybe monsters are cool with this… But I’m not! I won’t fight a kid, so I guess I conce—”

Three blades appeared around James’ neck! They formed a tight triangle.

Angel shook their head, “Before you do something that you will regret… Perhaps you should hear me out? It would be such a shame for the entire event to end so lamely, because you got cold feet.”

James remained perfectly still, or at least, still as he could while speaking, “You… Are you the one doing this?”

Angel nodded, “Indeed. Sorry about that, but I needed to get your attention. Allow me to get rid of those…” The blades vanished, “…there! Now then, as I have said time and time again: I am a Sorcerer! The most powerful class of human mage. Do not make the mistake of thinking I am just another child. Underestimate me, at your own pearl!”

James rubbed his neck, “…Okay? But, what does that MEAN, exactly?”

“Fight me and I’ll show you! It is time that you, that ALL of you, learn just how dangerous a Sorcerer can be!”

James thought about this, his orders were to try and learn as much about monsters and how they fight. This wasn’t in his briefing… but… “I guess I have no choice. Very well, I accept.”

Angel smiled and opened their eyes, “Good. Take it away, Mettaton!”

“…LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN! COMBATANTS! ARE. YOU. READY!?”

Angel and James both nodded.

“…FIGHT!!!”

*Ding!*

Angel closed their eyes.

“It’s a beautiful day outside…

Birds are singing…

Flowers are blooming…

On day like this, people like you…”

Angel opened their eyes; they were glowing brightly.

“ **Should be begging for mercy.** ”

Two round, disc-shaped rings appeared, one on each side of Angel. They were a light-pink color, and were ever-so-slightly transparent. In the middle of each ring, there was what could best be described as a shimmering pool; it was a lighter shade of pink, bordering on white, or perhaps it looked that way because it was even more transparent than the outer ring.

The shimmering white flashed, and then a fraction of a second later…

*BWOOM!!!*

White laser beams shot out from the rings! They traveled in a straight line across the arena, striking the far wall.

As quickly as they appeared, the beams faded and vanished.

James cautiously glanced around at the damage.

James himself was unharmed, but the ground on either side of him was not. Two long scorch marks, ran parallel with each other down the entire arena. Even the wall behind him was scorched!

Angel smiled triumphantly, “Like what you see? These bad boys are my signature magical attack. They are called, ‘Omni-Lasers.’ And, no; I did not name them. They were created, and named, by the legendary hero, Delta. Despite the name, they are not actually lasers. They are simply beams comprised of concentrated, super-heated plasma. At full power, they can vaporize a human in about… hmm, 0.9 seconds… give or take.”

James, and everyone else, were left speechless.

“Don’t worry! I won’t be using them at full power. If you get hit by these weakened versions, it’ll hurt like hell… but you’ll live. No permanent damage, either!”

James seemed to recover somewhat, “How… How? Just… How?”

“…I think that’s enough exposition for now. Let’s get back to the fight!” Angel raised their left hand and snapped their fingers. Two more Omni-Lasers appeared, this time they were aimed directly at James!

James finished snapping out of his stupor, and lunged to side! The beams missed him by less than an inch!

“Not bad, not good either…” Angel commented, before conjuring several ethereal blades. “I call this one: Blade Spiral.”

True to the name, the ethereal blades flew toward James and continued travelling past him, making a spiral pattern in the process. Blades continued to appear and fly through the air, they did not move particularly fast, so James was able to safely stay in the pattern.

After nearly half a minute, the last of the blades had vanished. Angel whistled sharply, “Pay attention! I am only going to say this once: Blue attacks will not hurt you if you remain still, Orange attacks will not hurt you if you keep moving.”

With their explanation concluded, Angel raised their left hand and snapped their fingers. Several blades burst forth from the ground, forming a square box around James. A second later, several pairs of parallel Omni-Lasers appeared overhead. Each laser was directly aligned with the corresponding laser that was directly opposite it.

Suddenly, one pair of Omni-Lasers turned green, only to return to its original pinkish color as another pair turned green, this pattern repeated a few times. James heard Angel snap their fingers, and the green laser turned into a light-blue color. A split-second later all of the lasers fired and started descending towards to ground! There was no space in-between the beams, so James dashed to the side of his box. He froze when the blue beam touched him.

The beams and the blade-box disappeared a few moments later, leaving James completely unharmed.

Angel nodded approvingly, “Huh, looks like you can follow directions after all. I hope you can keep this up! My next attack is called: Guillotine.”

A small metal sliver appeared in Angel’s hand. Angel threw it high into the air, only for it come crashing down into the floor a few feet away from James. James took a good look at the piece of metal; it looked like a miniature guillotine head, except that two red lines were extending from the ends of the blade. One of them overlapped with James’ foot.

James recognized the threat, and quickly pulled his foot back! The strange blade did something between exploding, and vanishing, and the odd red light flashed before vanishing as well. There was now a shallow gash in the floor where the red line had been, as if it had been struck by an axe… or the guillotine itself. The gash extended across the entire arena, traveling in both directions.

Angel conjured several more blades, and tossed them into the air. They came crashing down all over the arena. James had to avoid the blades, as well as the red lines they created. As the last set of blades vanished, James felt a biting pain in his left elbow. He turned to see that he had been hit, the small cut was slowly oozing blood. It wasn’t serious, but James knew now that these attacks didn’t just effect what was on the ground, the attacks would harm anything above them as well.

“So much for your No-Hit Run.” Angel commented.

Several Omni-Lasers appeared on the ground, paired off with matching Omni-Lasers overhead. The lasers fired and started drifting around the arena. The lasers were moving much faster than they were before, but James managed to dodge all of them.

Angel chuckled darkly, “Time for another Angel Dreemurr Special. I call this one: Rain of Blades!”

A single ethereal blade fell from the sky.

Another blade joined the first.

Suddenly, dozens of blades were falling from the sky! The blades were numerous, but they seemed to be falling at random, so James was able to dodge them easily enough. Unfortunately, Angel also started conjuring blades that fell at odd angles; these blades were clearly aimed at James. He was able to avoid them, but the blades falling straight down managed to graze him twice.

“…You are slowing down.” Angel said, “Is this all that you are capable of?”

Another barrage of Omni-Lasers; these were seemingly arranged at random, making it hard to predict where they would appear.

Angel shook their head, “…Sadly, it looks like the show’s over, folks. Time to end this: Iron Maiden!”

A loose ring of blades appeared around James! James noticed that the gaps between the blades were just large enough for him to slip through. He was barely able to escape the ring as the blades violently slammed into each other! The ethereal blades let out metallic screeches and groans as the blades steadily slid past one another.

If James had been hit with that… The attack would have killed him, slowly and painfully.

Angel chuckled darkly, “It’s not over yet…”

Another ring of blades appeared, followed by another. The attacks were getting faster and faster, until…

James stumbled. He fell to the ground and a blade pierced his shoulder! His whole body locked up from the shock, he closed his eyes, ‘It’s over…’ he thought.

James felt the remained blades descend upon him…

It was at that moment that the blades vanished, and were replaced by a faint green glow. The pain quickly started to fade, prompting James to open his eyes. The strange green things that had been floating around the arena were staring at him, showering him in what look like a green spotlight.

‘So this is what healing magic feels like.’

*Ding! Ding!*

“THAT IS IT! BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THE MATCH IS OVER! THE WINNER OF ROUND THREE… IS ANGEL DREEMURR! AND! THAT’S NOT ALL! WITH TWO WINS TO ONE! THE WINNERS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL OVERWORLD V. NETHERWORLD FIGHTING CONTEST IS: THE NETHERWORLD TEAM!!!”

Cheers sounded throughout the arena as James struggled to his feet. No, he needed answers! He stood up, only to fall to his knees. Despite the healing, he was still in pain, but it was the sheer exhaustion that kept him from standing.

Despite his exhaustion, James managed to speak, “…How… How are you this strong…? What the hell kind of power… did the monsters give you!?”

Angel smiled cruelly, “Monsters? As if they could train anyone to fight like this! No… I taught myself to fight… I taught myself magic… All this power, is MINE! Monsters had NOTHING to do with this, plain and simple.”

James tried to speak but he started having a coughing fit. After he recovered, he tried again, “…Lies! There’s no way… a child could ever… could ever…”

Angel waved their hand dismissively, “And why, pray tell, would I ever lie to you? I hate lying. After all…” Angel leaned in towards James… when did they get so close!? “A hard truth can cut deeper than any blade. A blade may break, but the truth will never falter. And I do so enjoy—well… I think I will keep that one to myself.”

Angel stood up and started walking away. After returning to their starting point, they stopped. “Just so we are on the same page. That was only about… 10% of my maximum energy output. I am about twice as powerful as your average sorcerer… But even so, I pale in comparison to the original Seven. Their combined might was enough to shake the very foundations of this world! Be thankful that they died a long time ago…”

Angel snapped their fingers and vanished.

  


* * *

  


_A few minutes later, at an unknown location…_

The mysterious figure in the black-robe slammed his fist into his desk, “Damn it! What the hell is that psychopath thinking!? Are they trying to get us all killed!? …What am I saying? Of course they are!”

The figure pulled off his hood and started rubbing his temples.

A strange, oscillating voice emerged from behind him, “ **You look like you are having a hard time, Xander.** ”

Xander, the man in the black robe, leapt to his feet and spun around to face the source of the voice. He saw a familiar gold mask and red-and-black robe.

Xander let out a shaky breath, “Midas! You son-of-a-bitch! Don’t. Do. That!”

Midas said nothing. It was impossible to tell who, or what, lurked beneath that golden mask.

Nearly one month ago, Midas appeared before Xander and offered to assist him in his revenge. Xander would have refused on the spot, if not for two things: The enigmatic ‘Midas’ was wearing traditional Sorcerer Robes, RED Sorcerer Robes at that. The second thing that gave Xander pause; was that no matter how hard he tried, Xander could not check Midas’ SOUL. Even stranger, Xander couldn’t even sense a SOUL at all.

Midas was a mystery to Xander. The only thing Xander knew, was that the mysterious masked… thing… did not want him dead. The power needed to hide one’s SOUL was immense. If Midas had that kind of power, there was no way in hell Xander would survive this creature’s wrath.

Midas continued to say nothing as Xander caught his breath. After a few moments, Xander spoke, “What do you want? I’m busy.”

“ **Busy letting your revenge slip away from you, you mean.** ”

Xander ‘tsked’ once and turned back to the computer monitor, it was showing the reaction of pundits and reporters in the wake of the Contest. “I warned that damn fool not to trust them. And what did he do? He trusted them! He let them do… this! Now people are gonna be searching for mages. Searching for US! Damn it all!”

“ **Where one finds a hindrance, one may also find a convenience.** ”

“…What the hell are you smoking, and where can I get some? You can’t look at this and tell me this is a good thing!”

“ **The Fallen One has tipped their hand. They wish to cast the net of fear wide, and ensnare Human and Monster alike.** ”

“…But I warned Ericson NOT to trust them! Why would he—?”

“ **Did you really think, that the president of the United States, would follow the advice of a mysterious letter?** ”

Xander froze for a moment, hearing his plan said out-loud made him realize just how stupid it was. He was the ‘Friend’ who left a letter for President Ericson, but of course, the President wouldn’t trust such a mysterious letter.

“……What do you suggest?”

“ **Do unto others, as they have done unto you.** ”

Xander groaned and turned to face Midas, “Can’t you say something useful, for on—”

Midas was gone. Xander saw a small black-and-gold book lying on the floor.

Xander picked up the book, it had the letters ‘D.T.’ written on the front with blood-red ink.

Xander quickly realized that it wasn’t ink. He opened the book, despite himself.

…

…Impossible.

If this was true… that meant…

Angel Dreemurr was even more dangerous than he thought!

Xander sat down and began studying the book in detail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Magic Scare
> 
> I really like well thought-out fight-scenes; I just don’t like WRITING them!  
> Also, the Omni-Lasers sound almost exactly like Gaster Blasters. You just can’t beat that sound!


	20. Magic Scare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel's magical demonstration has unintended side effects. Toriel decides bodyguards are in order. A Mysterious Figure visits the White House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ‘Attempts’ are written in first-person, from the perspective of Angel.

Attempt 1

Since this is the first time I have used this particular strategy, I fully expect there to be MANY failed attempts to make this work. That being said, so long as I utilize my Saves correctly, I should be able to avoid the need to Reset…

It seems brutal honesty is NOT the way to go here. What an unexpected surprise…

Attempt 6

Progress has been made! As I suspected, I need to shift the narrative via indirect means, and I now know what those means are.

Attempt 11

Things were going so well… Then our Arch-Enemy pulled a fast one. Can’t allow myself to fall for that again…

Attempt 19

I agreed to go along with one of Asriel’s plans… It did not go well.

Attempt 22

It seems Asriel was still upset about Attempt 19 and wanted to prove himself… He succeeded in acquiring new information. This will be very useful indeed. If only he could have gotten it to me WITHOUT dying…

Attempt 35

Let’s… just pretend that didn’t happen…

Attempt 37

I was almost there! But Sans wanted answers that I couldn’t give at the time! Damn it! I need his help for the later stages, so it looks like I will need to be faster next time.

Attempt 41

Didn’t make it, but I did find the solution. Here is the ‘condensed’ version:

* There is a line of incomprehensible symbols and seemingly made-up words.

There! Even if someone DID manage to read this, these words are meaningless to anyone but me. I will inform Asriel of the new plan and try again.

Attempt 42

Job done!

I have succeeded in shifting the humans attention away from _monster_ magic, and instead focus on the idea of _human_ magic. With this, humans who fear magic will not fear monsters specifically. Granted, some people will blame monsters for introducing humans to magic, but those people will be a vocal minority, whereas the rest will be an equally vocal majority!

With this, phase one of my plan is complete.

…I should let things cool down before I move onto phase two.

  


* * *

  


Angel dismissed their enchanted pen and closed the Black Book. They leaned back in their chair and stretched. Finally, after repeating the same month 42 times, they had done it!

Sadly, they had no time to relax. They had an interview with NAN in less than an hour.

Angel pulled out their phone and checked the time.

It was later than Angel thought. Their interview with NAN was due to start in five minutes!

Angel swore under their breath and tucked the Black Book into their jacket. They teleported to the NAN studio. Katie Springs and several stagehands were waiting on-set. Well, they were all in front of the set, not on it.

Angel cleared their throat, “I’m not too late, am I?”

Katie jolted and spun around, “Wha—!? Oh… Please don’t do that. And no, you’re not, but we don’t have time for the make-up team! We need to be in place in 2 minutes, or else!”

Angel decided to turn on the charm, “Trust me, beautiful, you don’t need make-up.”

Katie rolled her eyes, “No, trust ME, you can’t sweet-talk your way out of being late. On-set, now.” She turned to the crew, “Places, people!”

Less than a minute later, everyone was in position, waiting out the final minutes to start.

The stage director gave the signal. It’s showtime.

Katie spoke with her usual co-host voice, “Thanks, Donny! I’m joined by Angel Dreemurr, Ambassador and newly-crowned Prinx of the Netherworld. Prinx Angel, how does it feel to OFFICIALLY join the Dreemurr royal family?”

Angel smiled warmly, “Just ‘Angel’ is fine. To answer your question, I am mostly just glad to have finished filing the paperwork. Between that and everything that has happened in the aftermath of my… demonstration, last month… Let’s just say I have been very busy.”

Katie nodded, “Don’t we know it! There was one point were our editors had to sleep in shifts just to cover all of the news.”

Angel tilted their head to one side, “…Isn’t that how it normally is?”

“Sort of, normally no one has to sleep in the office though…” Katie cleared her throat, “We’ve gotten off-topic. Now, everyone has just been dying to know, how does one become a Sorcerer? In fact, you have been teasing us with the answer to that question for the past month. I know you are probably sick to death of hearing this question, but everyone wants answers…”

Angel nodded, “I understand people’s frustration, but as I said before, the Ritual that is needed to become a Sorcerer is VERY dangerous. We are talking about something so dangerous, that failure can result in death. Even worse, death would be a favorable outcome for failure.”

“But you are not liable, legally or ethically, for the actions of random people. If some people hurt themselves, you cannot be held responsible.”

Angel nodded once more, “You are right; in a court of law I am free and clear. In the court of public opinion… Well, I am sure that you are well aware of the conspiracy theories about me. My personal favorite is that I am some sort of space-demon with a time-machine. If I had a time-machine, I would just travel back in time to the Human-Monster War and prevent it from ever happening. Sadly, time-travel is completely impossible.”

“Surely there is something you can tell us? Can we get even the tiniest hint?”

Angel shook their head, “No, I cannot tell you about the Ritual, not now. However, I will say it again, because it bears repeating: Becoming a Sorcerer is NOT a fast-track to becoming powerful! Being a Sorcerer has significant downsides!”

“Such as?”

Angel sighed, “Well for starters, Sorcerers must adhere to their primary SOUL-trait. If they do not, they will become weaker and weaker. Should they defy their SOUL-trait too strongly, they will die.”

“And what does it mean to ‘defy’ your SOUL-trait?”

Angel made a show of hesitating, “…You already know what the SOUL-traits are, do you not? Kindness, Justice, etc.? For example, let’s say you are a Sorcerer with a kindness SOUL, and you stumble upon a wounded person. A kind person would stop and heal them, but if you decided NOT to heal them, for any reason… You would ‘defy’ your own trait, kindness. Such an act would weaken you, and if you were to, let’s say, kill someone in cold-blood for looking at you cross… As a green-SOUL Sorcerer, you would probably die, right then and there. No warning, no preamble, just instantaneous death.”

“…So a green SOUL Sorcerer cannot kill?”

“No. Simply put, a green SOUL Sorcerer cannot commit an act of Hatred. Hate is the anti-thesis of Kindness. Therefore, it is the anti-thesis of a green SOUL Sorcerer’s very being. The key to a Sorcerer’s power is that they bind their SOUL to their own ideals. To go against these ideals, would destabilize a Sorcerer’s SOUL, and I have already explained how that would likely end…”

Katie nodded along, “So… does that mean every SOUL type has its’ own anti-thesis? If so, what are they?”

Angel rubbed the back of their neck, “I don’t know all of them. I know that Fear is the opposite of Courage, and Hate is the opposite of Kindness, but that is all I know.”

“But aren’t you are red Sorcerer? Shouldn’t you know the opposite to Determination?”

Angel chuckled, “That is a great question. From what I have gathered from ancient records, Determination is its own anti-thesis. Only Determination can counter Determination. This is why red SOUL Sorcerers are, more often than not, highly influential in human history. They are able to commit virtually any act, without fear of weakening themselves. That being said, red Sorcerers often adhere to certain ‘rules’ that they refuse to break; even if adhering to them means death.”

Katie frowned, “That’s… rather dark…”

Angel simply shrugged, “Some say there is a reason why it is called, ‘Black’ magic.”

Katie laughed nervously, “That… actually makes sense… Additionally, you claimed that you are about as strong as two Sorcerers, but at the same time said you are weaker than the ‘Original Seven.’ How is that possible? Weren’t they all Sorcerers?”

Angel shook their head again, “While it might not be a popular opinion, not all people are born equal. Some people have special talents that set them above others, while some have no talents at all. Sorcerers are the same way, some are stronger than others. I am about as strong as two Sorcerers of ‘average’ power, but the Seven… They were far stronger than even I can comprehend.”

“…You say that like you can somehow measure their, for a lack of a better word, power-levels.”

“I cannot, but I was able to find some rather-detailed… records. I can say with absolute certainty, that the legendary hero, Delta, was the most powerful Sorcerer this world has ever seen. No contest.”

Katie’s quizzical look spoke volumes, but Angel decided to deliberately miss the hint; not because Angel wanted to be rude, but they needed Katie to pose the question, “And what made Delta so legendary?”

Angel smiled wryly, “You mean besides ‘the legend,’ the one about the Human-Monster War itself? Not much, I’m afraid.”

“What legend?” Katie paused for a moment, “You mean the one that said two species ruled over Earth?”

“Two RACES, but yes, that one.”

Katie subtly checked the time. They still had a few minutes left, so she decided to press that last point just to round out the time, “What’s the difference?”

Angel smiled, somewhat smugly in fact, “You do know the scientific definition of ‘Species,’ do you not?”

Katie shook her head, “It has been a while since I took a biology class. Could you please refresh my memory?”

“Of course!” Angel nodded, “I don’t remember the EXACT definition… But it went something like this: Two animals are the same species, if they can mate and produce fertile offspring. Humans and Monsters are different races, but the same species.”

“Okay, thanks for clearing that up.” Katie paused for a moment, her eyes went wide when realization dawned on her, “Wait, humans and monsters can have children together? How does that work!?”

Angel gave a cat-like grin, “Weeeeell… When two people decide they REALLY like each other…”

Katie furiously shook her head, “No, no, no! Not that! I meant… What, would their child be some sort of hybrid? Half-human, half-monster? Or something?”

Angel was enjoying Katie’s panic more than they should have, “No. There is no such thing as a ‘hybrid.’ You are either human or monster, nothing else. That being said, it is mostly up to chance as to which race your child would be. That being said, a human with a monster parent would likely have a greater degree of magical sensitivity, and a monster with a human parent would have greater degree of physical resilience. This is in addition to any inherited physical traits, like hair or eye color.”

Katie nodded along dumbly, “I… think… No. Actually… No, I don’t understand at all… But we will have to get more answers after this commercial break… Stay tuned, everyone.”

One the stage director raised his hand, then quickly lowered it, “We’re clear.” he said.

  


* * *

  


Toriel sat down at the dining room table, sighed and rubbed her temples; she could feel another headache coming. The past month had been quite stressful for her.

After Angel got home Toriel wasted no time and told them they were grounded for a month. She also made them promise not to pull another stunt like that. Toriel knew that Angel could handle themself, but even so, they could have been badly hurt during the contest. If anything happened to Angel… Toriel refused to think about it.

Even with the contest over and done with, there was no rest for the Queen. For days on end, the Dreemurrs were bombarded with inquiries about Sorcerers and Black Magic. Toriel did not know enough about Black Magic to give any comprehensive explanation, but she did know a little about the Ritual.

Toriel knew enough to know that she didn’t want to know anymore.

With all eyes on Angel and their power, Toriel could not shake the feeling that Angel was in danger. For the past week, Toriel had been mulling over an idea she had, and at long last she had reached a decision.

Toriel stood up and went to the living room; she found Asriel sitting on the couch, watching TV. “Asriel, my son, we need to talk.”

Asriel glanced at her, noticed her serious expression, and quickly turned off the TV. “Yes? Is something wrong, mom?”

Toriel shook her head, “No, nothing in particular… However, I have been thinking. I believe, that for the time being, you and Angel require bodyguards.”

“…Bodyguards.” Asriel repeated.

“Yes, I believe that—”

“Can we pick our own bodyguards!?”

Toriel was stunned, she had expected Asriel to be against the idea, but instead, he seemed excited. Toriel decided to capitalize on this unexpected occurrence, “It is important that you trust your bodyguard, so I suppose that is all right. However! I must approve of your candidate first! Furthermore, your candidate must agree of their own accord, this is not a conscription.”

“Okay! Wait, is this one bodyguard for us both, or one each?”

“One each, would be best. Please inform your sibling of this when they return from their interview. Oh, and try to have your candidate chosen by tomorrow evening. I would like to have this resolved by weeks end.”

Asriel pulled out his phone and started texting, “Don’t worry. I already know who’s gonna be my bodyguard! …And I’m pretty sure I know who Angel is gonna ask too!”

“…Oh? And who is it?”

Asriel smiled as he put away his phone, “Sorry, it’s a surprise.”

  


* * *

  


President Ericson was sitting in the Oval Office, pouring over a new proposal regarding placing restrictions on magic. There was no way in hell Ericson was going to let this pass, “What the hell is Congress thinking? Don’t they realize that such practices would alienate humans attempting to learn magic? Morons…”

“…Is this a bad time, Mr. President?”

Ericson lifted his gaze and saw a mysterious figure in a black robe. The figure pulled back his hood and revealed his face, “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Xander, a mage from the Gallonigher Mage Circle. I am the one who sent you that letter.”

Ericson glanced at the nearest door, it was still closed, Xander must have teleported to gain entrance. Being alone with a mysterious intruder would normally make Ericson nervous, but over the last year Ericson learned to adapt to strange situations, “There is a strict rule against teleporting into this building, you know.”

Xander bowed slightly, “I am aware, but would I have been granted an audience otherwise?”

Ericson sighed, “Fair enough. What do you want?”

Xander hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his next words, “I want to avenge my people: the mages of the Gallonigher Circle. The Gallonigher Circle Tower was attacked about one year ago, everyone was slain. The one you call Angel Dreemurr, is the one responsible for that bloodbath. I want to stop them, to put an end to their madness before they kill again. But, I’m not going to pretend that I’m a hero… My main goal here is revenge.”

“…And how do you intend to do that?”

Xander didn’t hesitate, “By killing them.”

Ericson shook his head, “Kill a child? I’m not sure I could ever agree with that.”

Xander clenched his fists, but made no other moves, “You saw what they can do, and that was just a fraction of their true power! You cannot treat them like a child. Children don’t seek out people to kill simply because they are bored! Children don’t burn down homes, laughing all the while! Children don’t commit pre-meditated murder! That… THING, is no child!”

Ericson said nothing, he simply studied Xander’s face.

Xander was shaking slightly now, “That… murderess! Will pay for what they have done. If you think that you are safe, think again… Angel will not hesitate to kill their allies, when they outlive their usefulness.” After a brief pause, Xander continued, “I’m… I’m not asking for your help… I just want you to stay out of my way… I… I don’t want… anyone else to get hurt… I… won’t let them, claim another victim… I won’t…!”

Ericson had heard enough, he knew that this man was telling the truth. There was no attempt at misdirection, there was no hint of subversion, just a man who was on the edge of breaking-down. “…As strange as it sounds, I believe you. However, I cannot endorse or allow murder. If you are willing to testify, we could see to pressing legal charges.”

“…It won’t be enough. That being said… I DO have a plan. What would you say if I told you that I could make Angel confess to murder? What would you say if I confronted them about it?”

Ericson hesitated, Xander wasn’t plotting anything before, but he was now, “What do you suggest?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: A Brief Reprieve
> 
> Poor Angel and Asriel… They can’t seem to catch a break can they?


	21. A Brief Reprieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finally fixing everything, more or less, Angel and Asriel try to relax. Toriel confides in Sans. Mettaton is sued over his likeness to David Bowie.

Angel was tired. They were tired of minding their behavior, watching their words and correcting their posture. They were tired of acting, pretending to be something they were not: a respectable person.

On one hand, Angel missed the days when they could simply use force to achieve their goals. On the other, using diplomacy was an interesting challenge, like fighting with one arm behind their back.

Sadly, the novelty of being handicapped in this way had long since worn-off.

Angel was tired, bitter, and oh so bored.

They were so bored in fact, that they were wasting their time on a childish puzzle.

About a decade ago, a fad started among the teenage monsters. They would take their name, and a few other SOUL-based stats, and perform various mathematical calculations and other things. They say that you can use these techniques to learn all kinds of things about yourself. Angel recalled a similar fad among humans, but Angel was more likely to believe the monster version.

So here they were, doing all sorts of nonsense with their name and other stats.

Angel decided to go for the most ridiculous thing first: their height at adulthood. According to this, they would grow to be about 5ft 5in. Of course, Angel had no means of confirming this, but at least it didn’t give them something crazy, like 9ft.

For their second calculation, they went for one that would (supposedly) reveal the name of their soul mate, or something.

The result was… unexpected to say the least.

Angel got two names, not a first name and a last name, but two DIFFERENT names.

Angel wasn’t sure if this meant they would one day desire an open-relationship, or if there was some other meaning that they were missing…

The names themselves only added more confusion…

Frisk and Chara.

Those were human names. Angel was willing to be open-minded about this nonsensical… thing, but they drew the line at falling in love with a human! Never mind two humans!

Angel grumbled in frustration as they double-checked their work. They found no errors, so they decided to double-check the instructions. Once again, everything looked fine. Having run out of places to look, they decided to double-check the exact wording of the test.

_Use this test to determine the name of the person that completes you._

…The person that completes you. Person. Singular.

And yet, somehow Angel got two names.

Angel sighed, crumpled up the paper they had been writing and doing math on, and dropped it into the trashcan under their writing desk.

Angel then proceeded to stand up and stretch, before walking over to their bed and flopping face-first onto it. “Asriel…” they whined, “I’m so, BORED!”

Angel’s words were muffled by their pillow. Despite this, Asriel was able to clearly understand them. He paused his handheld game console, set it down on the nightstand, and sat up in his own bed. “Okay? And what do you want me to do about it?”

Despite laying face-down, Angel shrugged, “I don’t know, entertain me? Do you know any cool tricks?”

“…I know you’re being sarcastic, but that’s still a bit hurtful…”

Angel sighed, “I’m sorry, Azzy… I just… don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Apology accepted! But, yeah… hate to break it to ya, but that’s what being grounded feels like, total boredom.”

Angel rolled over, now they were staring at the ceiling, “If that’s the case… Toriel is not allowed to ground me again… Buuuuut~” Angel smiled and glanced at Asriel, “She can ground you all she likes.”

Asriel chuckled despite himself, “Yeah, I don’t think that is how it works. I wish it was, but it’s not. Um…?”

“Yes, Azzy?”

“Why don’t…” Asriel paused, he was trying to find the right words, he didn’t want Angel to feel like he was attacking them, “Why do you call mom, ‘Toriel?’ Why not call her ‘mom,’ like I do?”

Angel winced, Asriel was about to retract his question and apologize, but Angel spoke first, “Because it hurts…”

“…What hurts?”

Angel waved their hand and cast Sound Barrier on the room. Once they were certain the spell was in full effect, they continued, “It hurts. It hurts when I see them die. It hurts when I fail to save them… It hurts, and I don’t want it to… Except… I do… I WANT it to hurt, because… it means that I still care… And if I don’t think of her as my mother… It hurts less… I think…”

“…You don’t call her ‘mom’ because you want to distance yourself?”

Angel nodded, “I am not used to feeling hurt. I am used to pain, I have endured things that no one should be forced to endure. But hurt, emotional hurt… That is something I am not used to. I want to throw it all away… But if I do, then I will return to being that… thing… and I don’t want that! I… I don’t want to… living death… that is the only way to describe what I was before… An empty vessel of death.”

Angel started making that face again, not their creepy face, the face they made when they were close to breaking-down. Asriel hated seeing them like that. It hurt him, seeing them suffer under the weight of their own, self-imposed anguish.

Asriel slowly stood up and stepped over to Angel’s bed. He sat down and carefully pulled Angel into a sitting position. “It’s okay, Angel. I know how you must have felt…” Asriel hugged Angel, “I felt the same way too. Before… I was alone… I had mom and dad, but no one else… I had no friends, no siblings, no one who I could share my adventures with. I was alone. But then, I met you, and I wasn’t alone anymore! I… I’m afraid of being alone again. That’s what you’re feeling too, isn’t it? You don’t want to go back to the way things were… When you couldn’t feel love. Because, without love… We would all be alone. I believe that love is the thing that helps us connect with each other, what makes us WANT to connect with each other. And without it…”

“…There is nothing but… **Hate**.” Angel added.

Asriel nodded slowly, “…Yeah. And that’s no way to live, is it?”

Angel shook their head weakly, “…Even though I can feel love again… That sickening hatred will not go away. I can’t get rid of it! If I did… I wouldn’t be… I would not be ME anymore. LOVE and hate are a part of me! So why? Why do you still care about me? I still don’t understand… Even after all of this…”

“…Because I love you, Angel. We all do, and that will never change.”

Angel pulled away from Asriel’s hug, but they still held on tight to his hands, “…I don’t understand. How can anyone love a murderer!? How… How…?”

Asriel smiled sadly, he didn’t know what words he needed to say… So he settled for these instead, “True love in unconditional. If someone truly cares for you… They will accept you and all your faults, all your failings. They will accept you for all that you are, not just the good parts.”

Angel leaned forward and buried their face in Asriel’s shoulder, “You idiot. Stop caring, it would make things so much easier if you did…”

Asriel said nothing.

Those cold words…

He knew they weren’t talking to him.

  


* * *

  


Toriel was sitting down in her favorite chair, the one Angel had nicknamed Chairiel. Normally, she would be reading a book right now, but she was expecting a guest. In fact, that was probably him now.

“Knock, knock.” Toriel said.

“who’s there?”

“Nice to.”

“nice to who?

“Nice to see you, Sans.”

Sans stepped out from around the corner, “heh, nice to see you too, toriel.” Sans walked over to the couch and had a seat.

“Would you like something to drink, Sans?”

“nah, i’m good.” Sans pulled a ketchup bottle out of his jacket, “i always come prepared.”

Toriel smiled and rolled her eyes, “Good to know, but please. Do not drink that in here.”

“no prob.” Sans put the bottle away, “sooo… i’m guessing you want my answer, huh?”

Toriel nodded, “Indeed. I would like to have this resolved as soon as possible. Oh! But I do not wish to rush you, my friend.”

“nah, it’s fine. i… already made my decision. i’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Sans. However, I wish to be abundantly clear, you WILL be forced to suspend all of your other jobs! This is, after all, the most important job in the entire kingdom, is it not?”

“yup, i gotcha ya. still, i gotta ask… are you okay with this? i mean, i’m honored and all… but surely there as to be someone else better suited for this…”

“When Angel heard about my decision, you were the first person that came to their mind. Asriel barely had time to finish explaining, before they blurted-out your name. Angel trusts you, that is why they wish for you to be their bodyguard.”

“…i get that, but i only got 20 hp.”

“This is true, however, I know that you learned to fight from Dr. Gaster himself. Aside from Asgore and myself, there is no one more experienced with fighting humans. And I highly doubt Angel will need to be guarded against even the most… over-zealous, of monsters.” Toriel waved her hand dismissively, “Besides, you and I both know stats are not everything.”

Sans shrugged, “got me there. oh, yeah. before I forget, did paps get back to you?”

“He did, several times in fact. When Asriel said he wished for your brother to be his bodyguard… To say Papyrus was excited, would be something of an understatement…”

“heh, don’t i know it. paps was over the moon when he heard.” Sans did his best Papyrus impression, “NOT ONLY DO I GET TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! I GET THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION OF ALL! NYEH HEH HEH! i don’t think i’ve ever seen him this excited before. and that’s saying something.”

Toriel tittered lightly, “Yes, that does sound like Papyrus.” Toriel paused, “…I am glad that both of you agreed to this. I know my children will be in good hands. However… There is something you must know…”

“…ya don’t want the kiddo fightin’. right?”

“…That is right. Your job is not JUST to protect Angel, but to ensure they are NEVER put in a position where they are forced to fight. No… it is more than that… You must KEEP them from fighting. Even if you have to drag them, kicking and screaming, do NOT let them fight!”

“is this ‘cause they got 20 LOVE?”

Toriel nodded, a sad expression on her face, “Yes, but there is more to it than that. A long time ago, I had a human friend. They were an… odd person. Their SOUL was a vibrant red, and they were incredibly Determined. But… the war happened… and everything changed… But even so, I know that they still cared, about monsters… about humans… They had a heart big enough for the whole world…”

Toriel sighed, “But there is little room for mercy in war. They killed countless monsters, countless humans, and… they lost themself to it. They lost themself in that terrible war. I saw, first-hand, what LOVE can do to someone… And I fear that too much Determination could only make it worse. Angel, they remind me of my old friend. I do not wish for them to meet the same fate! That is why; you must keep Angel safe, and never let them fight. If they keep going down this path…”

Toriel could not bring herself to say it.

“…toriel.” Sans stood up and reached out, he put his hand on Toriel’s shoulder. This pulled her out of her own thoughts and back to the present. She looked at Sans, his usual smile was gone, replaced by a serious expression. “i’ll keep the kiddo from fighting. i promise.”

“…Thank you, Sans.”

  


* * *

  


Angel was staring at their tube of toothpaste as if it was Alphys’ colored-tile puzzle. “Okay, tell me again. Why do you not simply clean your mouth and teeth with fire magic. You are fire-proof both inside and out, are you not?”

Asriel shrugged, “For the same reason you don’t use sulfuric acid to clean your teeth, because it would damage them. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to visit the dentist if I can help it.”

“…But your teeth are fire-proof.”

“Yeah? And you know what happens to stone when you expose it to fire, let it cool, then expose it to fire again?”

“It becomes progressively more brittle. Are you saying that is what would happen to your teeth?”

“Yup! That’s why mom grounded me when she caught me doing that.”

Angel tilted their head to the side, “…I don’t recall that.”

Asriel looked surprised for a moment, before rubbing the back of this neck, “It happened before you fell…”

“…Ah. Sometimes I forget that such times ever existed…”

Before an awkward silence could fall, Angel’s phone started ringing. It was Mettaton’s ringtone, ‘Death by Glamour.’

Angel quickly answered their phone, “Greetings, Angel Dreemurr speaking.”

“AH. HELLO, BEAUTIFUL! I’M AFRAID I AM IN NEED OF YOUR ASSISTANCE! IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOME HUMANS WERE WATCHING THE TOURNAMENT AND FOUND THEMSELVES ENAMORED BY MY DASHING GOOD LOOKS! WHILE THIS IS PERFECTLY REASONABLE, AND, IN FACT, THE CORRECT COURSE OF ACTION… THEY HAVE TAKEN IT TOO FAR! THEY HAVE DECIDED TO SUE ME OVER SAID LOOKS! I WAS HOPING YOU COULD CONVINCE THEM TO STOP THIS SILLINESS AND SIMPLY ENJOY MY FABULOUS PRODUCTS AND PERFORMANCES, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!”

While Mettaton was explaining the situation, Angel left the bathroom. Asriel remained and closed the door after they left. Angel had just sat down on their bed by the time Mettaton was finished talking, “Okay, let me take a stab in the dark. They are suing you over your likeness to David Bowie, correct?”

“…THAT SEEMS TO BE THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT, DARLING.”

“Okay, let me think for a moment…” Angel sighed and flopped backwards onto their bed. They went over various different scenarios in their head. In all honesty, they had never had to deal with this particular issue before. It was… refreshing. “Okay, I may have an idea. Do you know who David Bowie was?”

“TO SOME EXTENT, YES.”

“Did you, or Dr. Alphys, know who David Bowie was BEFORE she created your EX Form?”

“HMM… WELL, _I_ HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS DAVID BOWIE AT THE TIME… BUT I CAN’T SAY FOR CERTAIN IF ALPHYS DID OR NOT. YOU WILL HAVE TO ASK HER.”

Angel used Blue Magic to reach under Asriel’s pillow and pull out his phone. They used his phone to send a text to Alphys, ‘angel here. did u kno david bowie when u built mtt ex form?’

Angel retuned their attention back to their own phone, “Okay, depending on what Alphys says, we should be able to use something called plausible deniability.”

“OH! THAT SOUNDS FANCY! FANCY AND TECHINICAL! I LOVE THIS PLAN ALREADY!! TELL ME MORE!!!”

“…Basically we tell the judge that you and Alphys didn’t know who David Bowie was, or what he looked like. Normally this sort of argument wouldn’t work, Bowie has been in movies, music, the whole nine yards. So it’s hard to say you HAVEN’T heard of him. Buuut~ Since you, Alphys, and all of monsterkind spent the last three-thousand years with… minimal, second-hand access to human entertainment, or human pop-culture, there is a legitimate reason to suspect that this is all just a coincidence.”

“…I SEE. WAIT! WAIT A MOMENT! YOU HAVE ALLWAYS REFERED TO DAVID BOWIE IN PAST-TENSE! WHY IS THAT?”

“Because he IS past-tense. As in, dead. He’s been dead for quite a while.”

“HMM… THEN LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT… IT SOUNDS THAT THE PEOPLE SUING ME, THINK THAT THEY OWN DAVID BOWIE’S LIKENESS! YOU CANNOT OWN A DEAD PERSON’S LIKENESS! AT LEAST, NOT WITHOUT A SPECIAL CONTRACT AND—”

“In monster law, perhaps.” Angel interrupted, “But in human law, it is all perfectly legal.”

“MY! HOW PERFECTLY MORBID! IS THERE AT LEAST A LIMIT TO THE DURATION OF THE TRADEMARK?”

“There is, but they can just renew it forever, so we can’t go that route…”

Asriel’s phone beeped, Angel opened the new text from Alphys, ‘does ur bro know? anyway i hav no idea who david bowie is! should i??’ Before Angel could respond, Alphys sent another text, ‘omg he looks like mtt! i would totally ship them 2gether!!!’

Angel sighed and shook their head. They quickly sent a reply, ‘david ded. hollywood suing mtt over liknes. call mtt later, k? goodnight.’

Angel tossed Asriel’s phone back onto his bed, “Alphys literally JUST Google’d him, so it looks like our argument stands. That does not mean it will be an easy battle, though. You should DEFINITELY get a lawyer, a human lawyer, if you can. Sadly, due to certain… considerations…”

“…YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP ME IN COURT. I FULLY UNDERSTAND! NEVER FEAR, DARLING! I HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL! THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME I HAVE HAD TO DEFEND MY IMAGE IN A COURT OF LAW!”

Angel was tempted to ask what Mettaton meant by this, but decided it was better not to. Instead, they said, “I am glad you understand. Just be careful, okay? Humans can be very under-handed when it suits them.”

“AS CAN I! BUT I SHALL TREAD CAREFULLY! IF I HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, I SHALL NOT HESITATE TO ASK! BUH-BYE~!”

*Click!*

Angel returned their phone to their pocket and smiled. “Helping people… It does feel nice, sometimes.” They said to themself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: An Enby of Many Secrets
> 
> The MTT scene lasted WAY longer than I thought it would. But that just means more Mettaton, so I guess that’s a win?

**Author's Note:**

> I have listed the new upload schedule in the Series Notes. If there are any changes or delays, I will announce them there.  
> Until next time!


End file.
